Though uranium has been in use since ancient times to produce yellow coloured ceramic glazes, Martin Heinrich Klaproth formally discovered uranium in 1789. Klaproth’s discovery came through his study of the mineral pitchblende, which was thought to be an iron or zinc ore. In his experiment, pitchblende was dissolved in nitric acid. Adding potash to this created a yellow precipitate. When more potash was added, this yellow precipitate dissolved. Since these reactions were unlike any Mart known element, Klaproth concluded that he had discovered a new element. As the planet Uranus had recently been discovered, he named the element after it.
The first sample of uranium metal isolated by heating uranium tetrachloride with potassium was made in 1841 by Eugene-Melchior Peligot in Paris.
In addition to its value to chemists, uranium was only used as a glass and ceramic colouring agent during the 1800s. This changed when Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity using uranium in 1896. All isotopes of uranium possess radioactive properties in varying degrees. Uranium came to be used as a fuel in nuclear power plants.
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