The periodic table/Tellurium

Tellurium (abbreviated "Te"), from the latin word for "Earth" (tellus), is a metalloid in the Oxygen Family.

Discovery
Tellurium was discovered by Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein, an Austro-Hungarian mineralogist and mining engineer, living in the Habsburg Empire in 1782. Reichenstein purified a substance from a Transylvanian gold ore (which is actually gold telluride, AuTe2, often known as calaverite), in which he believed he was handling antimony (another element). He published his discoveries of the element in a journal. The whole research was forgotten.

M. Klaproth, another scientist, was sent the work by Reichenstein... and isolated the element in 1789. He named it "tellurium", and gave full credit for element of Tellurium to Reichenstein.

Quick Facts
Name: Tellurium

Symbol: Te

Mass: 127.6

Classification: Oxygen Family

Discoverer: Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein

Protons: 52

Neutrons: 76

Electrons: 52

Protons: 52

Electrons: 52

Neutrons: 76

Color: silvery

Discovered in: 1782

Melting point: 449.51°C

Boiling point: 988°C