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| William Crookes |
One of the most surprising scientific figures of
the second half of the 19th century in England was William Crookes (1832-1919),
whose scientific career was spectacular, although his activities related to
spiritualism, which was then in vogue in England, were also widely known.
Here's a list of Crookes's scientific achievements:
· An expert in spectroscopy, in 1861 he discovered a new chemical element, thallium, number 81 on the periodic table, located in the same column as boron, aluminum, gallium, and indium, whose chemical properties it resembles. Thallium was discovered simultaneously and independently by the French chemist Claude-Auguste Lamy, who is considered a co-discoverer, although it was Crookes who named it, from the Greek word θαλλός, meaning green twig, in reference to the green line in its spectrum that helped him discover it. This discovery led to his appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1863.
