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French physicist Marguerite Perey identified francium, the last element to be discovered in nature rather than by synthesis.

Historical image related to French physicist Marguerite Perey identified francium, the last element to be discovered in nature rather than by synthesis. from January 7, 1939

Marguerite Perey

20th-century French physicist

Marguerite Catherine Perey was a French physicist and a student of Marie Curie. In 1939, Perey discovered the element francium by purifying samples of lanthanum that contained actinium. In 1962, she was the first woman to be elected to the French Académie des Sciences, an honor…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Francium

Chemical element with atomic number 87 (Fr)

Francium is a chemical element; it has symbol Fr and atomic number 87. It is extremely radioactive; its most stable isotope, francium-223, has a half-life of only 22 minutes. It is the second-most electropositive element, behind only caesium, and is the second rarest naturally…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Discovery of chemical elements

List of history of chemical elements

The discoveries of the 118 chemical elements known to exist as of 2025 are presented here in chronological order. The elements are listed generally in the order in which each was first defined as the pure element, as the exact date of discovery of most elements cannot be…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)