The question of who discovered antimony, a silvery-white metalloid with the chemical symbol Sb, does not have a single answer. Antimony (atomic number 51) is known for its brittle nature and lustrous appearance, placing it chemically between metals and nonmetals. Its unique property of expanding upon solidification makes it useful in specialized alloys. The element’s history is not marked by a sudden laboratory isolation but rather a gradual evolution from ancient mineral use to modern chemical identification, spanning millennia and involving ancient civilizations, alchemists, and modern chemists.
Antimony’s Presence in Ancient Civilizations
The mineral form of antimony, primarily stibnite (antimony sulfide), was recognized and used by humans as early as the fourth millennium BCE. Archaeological evidence confirms its use in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, where its dark color made it valuable for cosmetics. Egyptians powdered stibnite to create kohl, a popular eye makeup applied to reduce glare and for perceived medicinal benefits, dating back to around 3100 BCE.
Antimony compounds also found early application in metallurgy across the Near East. In regions like Anatolia, antimony was intentionally or unintentionally alloyed with copper, sometimes reaching concentrations of up to 20% by weight, to create harder bronze-like materials. These ancient peoples were utilizing the properties of the mineral compound, not the chemically distinct element itself, as they lacked the methods to separate antimony into its pure, elemental form.
The Alchemical Quest for Antimony Basil Valentine
The transition from recognizing the mineral to isolating the metal is often attributed in historical lore to the mysterious figure known as Basil Valentine. Valentine is traditionally described as a 15th-century Benedictine monk credited with the first clear description of metallic antimony. His most famous work, The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, detailed the preparation and medical applications of antimony compounds, establishing him as a foundational figure in chemical literature.
However, historians widely regard Basil Valentine as a pseudonym or a semi-mythical figure. The works attributed to him, including The Triumphal Chariot, were likely written later, possibly in the 16th or 17th century by a German author named Johann Thölde. This complex authorship means the texts cannot be tied to a single, verifiable discoverer in the 15th century.
The alchemical quest focused heavily on antimony’s unique ability to dissolve nearly all other metals except gold, leading alchemists to call it the “wolf of metals.” The writings provided explicit instructions for preparing the “Regulus of Antimony,” which is the pure metallic form, typically achieved by heating stibnite with iron. This alchemical work represents the intellectual leap of reducing the ore to a pure metal.
Formal Recognition as a Chemical Element
The true chemical identity of antimony was solidified during the 17th and 18th centuries with the rise of modern quantitative chemistry. Before this period, antimony was recognized as a distinct metal that could be isolated from its ores. It was already included in early lists of substances that could not be broken down further, such as the list compiled by Robert Boyle in 1661.
The decisive step in its formal recognition came with the work of chemists like Antoine Lavoisier in the late 18th century. Lavoisier, through his systematic approach and the publication of his Elementary Treatise of Chemistry in 1789, clarified the concept of an element as a substance that resists decomposition by any known chemical analysis. Antimony, with the symbol Sb derived from the Latin stibium, was definitively placed on his list of elements. This rigorous scientific classification confirmed antimony’s status as a distinct elemental substance, marking the final stage of its identification.