Anders G. Ekeberg was the first person to discover tantalum. He discovered it in Sweden from the rocks in the mines in 1802. Unfortunately for him , though, 7 years later in 1809 a more popular English chemist, William H. Wollaston, said that this was not true and that there had been no new discovery or element. Wollaston had thought that this new element was simply niobium, even if both samples had different density's. People, including the scientific community, believed him all the way up until 1846. During this year, German mineralogist Heinrich Rose proved that niobium and tantalum were two different elements, even if they were chemically combined.
Years after this, in 1903, Werner von Bolton refined tantalum for the first time. Tantalum was first used to create the first filaments for early light bulbs, but after time, tungsten replaced this. Tantalum was named after the Greek mythological figure, Tantalus. It was named after this because Tantalus was the father of Niobe, and they named Niobium after this figure since tantalum and niobium are so similar. This is where tantalum also gets its symbol because the first two letters in tantalum are Ta.
Years after this, in 1903, Werner von Bolton refined tantalum for the first time. Tantalum was first used to create the first filaments for early light bulbs, but after time, tungsten replaced this. Tantalum was named after the Greek mythological figure, Tantalus. It was named after this because Tantalus was the father of Niobe, and they named Niobium after this figure since tantalum and niobium are so similar. This is where tantalum also gets its symbol because the first two letters in tantalum are Ta.