??? - Mercury is discovered (ancient times)

1500 BC - Tubes of mercury are found in ancient Egyptian tombs that date back to 1500 BC.

500 BC - The Greeks used mercury in ointments and the Romans used it, unfortunately for those using it, in cosmetics.

50 - Dioscorides describes making mercury by heating cinnabar and condensing the vapour.

1566 - Mercury is used in Mexico to extract silver from crushed ore. The mercury was then distilled off.

1775 - Preparation of oxygen is commonly carried out by heating mercuric oxide.

1792-3 - Four German scientists independantly report no gas is produced when heating mercuric oxide. This was possibly inadequate equipment yielding the results they expected to see

1800 - E.C. Howard prepares fulminate of mercury and reports its explosive properties. He also discovers that is can be used as a propellant.

1801 - Berthollet obtains various sulphates of mercury. However instead of identifying these as mixtures he concludes that the mercurous and mercuric salts were the extremes of a continuous series of salts.

1804 - Proust shows that the various sulphates and nitrates of mercury, obtained previously, were mixtures of the mercurous and mercuric salts.

1867 - Fulminate of mercury is used as a detonator.

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