Niobium, atomic number 41, was discovered by Charles Hatchett, an English scientist in 1801. It was recognised in an ore sent to England from the American colonies, more than a century earlier by John Winthrop the Younger, who was the first governor of the state of Connecticut. The ore was called columbite and Hatchett named this element columbium (symbol Cb).
Later, in 1846, a German chemist named Henrich Rose independently discovered the element and named it niobium. This metal was first isolated by Christian Blomstrand, a Swedish scientist, in 1864.
Internationally, the name niobium was adopted in 1950. Niobium is a shiny, white, ductile metal. Due to its many properties, niobium is used in many areas of research and in creating magnets. One of the strongest superconducting magnets in the world makes use of niobium alloy wires such as niobium-tin and niobium-titanium.
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