History+of+chromium

Chromium was discovered by Louis Nicholas Vanquelin in Paris in the year 1797 while experimenting with Siberian red lead or mineral crocoites. He produced chromium oxide by mixing crocoite with hydrochloric acid. In 1798, Vanquelin was pleasantly surprised to discover that he can obtain metallic chromium by heating chromium oxide in a charcoal oven. Today, chromium is obtained by heating mineral chromites with aluminum. Chromium is a naturally occurring element in rocks, animals, plants, soil, and volcanic dust and gases. Chromium can be found in Russia, Turkey, Iran, Finland and the Philippines.