Karl Auer von Welsbach:
Karl Auer von Welsbach was an Austrian chemist.
Birth:
September 1, 1858 in Vienna, Austria
Death:
August 4, 1929 in Treibach, Austria
Claim to Fame:
Welsbach was an Austrian chemist who discovered the elements praseodymium and neodymium. He was working an element called didymium and found it could be separated into two different colored versions and not an element at all. The green version was praseodymium and the pink one was called neodidymium, which would be later called neodymium. He also developed a gas mantle that greatly increased the brightness of gas lighting, the flint used in cigarette lighters and the first metal filament light bulbs.
