Magnesium was not discovered until the 19th century. But much before that, humans had been using compounds of magnesium. Isolating magnesium is a tough task. This is because the compounds of magnesium are highly stable and cannot be broken down easily.
Careful studies of magnesium and its compounds began in the mid 1700’s. Some of the earliest studies on magnesium and its compounds were carried out by Joseph Black, a Scottish physician and chemist.
He conducted various experiments on compounds of magnesium and published his studies in an article. Black’s article became famous in the scientific circles and he is sometimes given credit for ‘discovering’ magnesium.
Though Black’s experiments were famous, it was Sir Humphry Davy who first isolated magnesium. Davy passed an electric current through melted magnesium oxide. The current caused the compound to break apart, forming the impure magnesium metal and oxygen gas. But this was a strenuous task, requiring a large battery with 200 pairs of metal discs to isolate the metal!
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