1722-1765

Swedish chemist famous for discovering nickel (1751). Cronstedt established systematic blowpipe analysis, which he applied to the examination of minerals. This work led him to develop a rational classification scheme for minerals. First published in his "Essay on the New Mineralogy" (1758), the scheme divided minerals into four groups—earths, bitumens, salts, and metals—based upon chemical composition. Among Cronstedt's other researches are experiments with the new iron ore cerite, in which lanthanum was later discovered.