A History Of Boron

Posted on by Brian Colwell

Boron, the fifth element on the periodic table, has played a fascinating role throughout human history, from ancient civilizations to modern technological applications. This unique metalloid, with its distinctive properties bridging metals and non-metals, has been utilized by humanity for millennia, though its true elemental nature remained hidden until the early 19th century.

From the borax deposits used by ancient Egyptians in mummification to its critical role in nuclear reactors and high-tech materials today, boron’s story reflects humanity’s evolving understanding of chemistry and materials science. This comprehensive history traces boron’s journey from mysterious mineral compounds to an essential element in contemporary industry and technology.

Be sure to check out all other critical raw materials (CRMs), as well.

A History Of Boron

The history of boron spans thousands of years, beginning with ancient civilizations’ use of boron compounds long before the element itself was identified. Ancient peoples utilized borax and other boron-containing minerals for various purposes, from preservation to metallurgy, without understanding the underlying chemistry. The element’s isolation in 1808 marked a turning point in chemical science, though achieving pure boron remained elusive for another century. Today, boron’s unique properties—from its role in plant nutrition to its applications in advanced materials—make it indispensable in fields ranging from agriculture to aerospace, demonstrating how a single element’s story can illuminate the broader narrative of human technological progress.

Chronology

  • Ancient times (before 300 AD) – Borax (sodium tetraborate, Na2B4O7·10H2O), a boron-containing compound, was known and used by ancient cultures for thousands of years, with the name coming from the Arabic “buraq,” meaning “white.” [1, 13, 14]
  • 300 AD – In China, borax (a boron compound) was used as a pottery glaze approximately 1700 years ago. [26]
  • 14-37 AD – Roman goldsmiths used sodium borate (borax, a boron compound) as a “flux,” a substance added to metal to make it flow more easily when heated. [13]
  • 875 AD – Arab physicians used borates (boron compounds) for internal medication. [69]
  • 13th century – Marco Polo returned from the Orient with samples of white crystals of borax (a boron compound), introducing this boron-containing material to Europe. [13, 15]
  • 1702 – Dutch physician W. Homberg obtained boric acid (H3BO3, a boron compound) for the first time by heating borax with sulphuric acid, creating what was known as “Homberg’s sedative salt.” [19]
  • 1747 – French chemist Th. Baron determined that borax contained Homberg’s salt (boric acid) and soda, correctly identifying borax as sodium salt of boric acid (both boron compounds). [19]
  • 1777 – Swedish chemist T. Bergman suggested that Homberg’s salt (boric acid, a boron compound) was likely not a salt but a compound resembling acid. [19]
  • 1808 – Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard in Paris, and Sir Humphry Davy in London, independently extracted elemental boron by heating borax (a boron compound) with potassium metal. [2, 5, 8]
  • June 21, 1808 – Gay-Lussac and Thénard announced their discovery of elemental boron. [19]
  • June 30, 1808 – Davy announced his discovery of elemental boron. [19]
  • November 14, 1808 – Gay-Lussac and Thénard claimed to have isolated boron as a new element and discovered its properties. [17]
  • December 15, 1808 – Davy made his claim to the discovery of boron in his fourth Bakerian lecture. [17]
  • 1824 – Jöns Jacob Berzelius identified boron as an element. [2, 18, 26]
  • 1824 – Berzelius performed the first synthesis of boron sulfide (a boron compound) by direct reaction of amorphous boron with sulfur vapor. [31]
  • 1856 – Borates (boron compounds) were first discovered in North America in Northern California’s Tehama County. [10]
  • 1873 – The United States experienced its first “borax fever” when evaporated surface deposits of crude borax (tincal, a boron compound) were recognized in Death Valley and surrounding areas. [10]
  • 1873 – John Searles’ San Bernardino Borax Mining Company began hauling borax (a boron compound) over 175 miles from Slate Range Playa (later Searles Lake) to San Pedro, California. [10]
  • 1870-1920 – Boron compounds were used as food preservatives during this period and again during World War II. [30, 47]
  • 1881 – Aaron Winters discovered borax (a boron compound) on a Death Valley salt marsh using the green-flame test characteristic of boron. [9, 15]
  • 1883 – The first 20 mule team hauled borax (a boron compound) 165 miles through Death Valley. [9, 10, 12]
  • 1883-1889 – Over 10,000 tons of borax (a boron compound) was carried out of Death Valley via mule teams. [10, 15]
  • 1890 – F.M. “Borax” Smith consolidated most borax (boron compound) claims in the Pacific Coast Borax Company. [9]
  • 1892 – Henri Moissan isolated a purer form of elemental boron. [8, 25, 39]
  • 1892 – Moissan prepared boron by reduction of B2O3 (boron trioxide) with magnesium, achieving 80-95% pure boron. [44]
  • 1907 – Boron mining operations returned to Death Valley at the Lila C. Mine. [9]
  • 1909 – American chemist Ezekiel Weintraub produced 99% pure elemental boron by reducing volatile boron halides with hydrogen at high temperatures. [2, 4, 18, 21]
  • 1914 – Boron mining began at Ryan in Death Valley. [9]
  • 1925 – Open-pit borax (boron compound) mine began operations at Boron, California. [9]
  • 1928-1971 – Death Valley boron mining was suspended while more profitable boron deposits were worked at Boron and Searles Lake. [9]
  • 1960s – Boromycin, the first boron-containing antibiotic found in nature, was isolated from streptomyces. [1, 2]
  • 1970s – Discovery that elemental boron (along with lithium and beryllium) is produced by cosmic ray spallation. [48]
  • 1980 – Boron mining was allowed to resume in Death Valley on a limited basis with stricter environmental standards. [15]
  • 1990s – Tartrolons, a group of boron-containing antibiotics, were discovered from culture broth of the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum. [2]
  • 2004 – Jiuhua Chen and Vladimir L. Solozhenko produced a new form of elemental boron. [21]
  • 2005 – The Billie Mine, the last Death Valley boron mining operation, closed. [15]
  • 2009 – A team led by Artem Oganov demonstrated that gamma-boron (a form of elemental boron) contains two structures, B12 icosohedra and B2 pairs, and is almost as hard as diamond. [21]
  • 2012 – Rio Tinto operates an open-pit mine at Boron, California, which supplies nearly half the world’s demand for borate compounds (boron compounds). [15]
  • 2013 – Chemist Steve Benner suggested that conditions on Mars three billion years ago were favorable for boron and molybdenum catalysts found in life. [2]
  • 2014 – Researchers at the University of Missouri discovered that boron is crucial to the stem cells of plants. [4]
  • 2014 – Researchers discovered the first boron “buckyball,” a cagelike structure of boron atoms similar to carbon buckyballs. [4]
  • 2014 – University studies suggested that artificial mummification using boron compounds occurred 1,500 years earlier than first thought. [56]
  • 2018 – Tests on a 5,600-year-old mummy in Turin revealed it had been deliberately mummified using embalming oils containing boron compounds. [56]

Final Thoughts

The history of boron exemplifies humanity’s gradual unveiling of nature’s hidden elements. From its ancient use in borax by civilizations who knew nothing of chemistry to its isolation by competing teams of brilliant chemists in 1808, boron’s story mirrors the evolution of scientific understanding itself. What began as a mysterious white mineral that made metals flow and preserved the dead has revealed itself as an element born in cosmic ray collisions, essential to plant life, and crucial to technologies ranging from fiberglass to semiconductors.

As we continue to discover new forms and applications of boron—from buckyballs to potential keys to understanding life’s origins—this element reminds us that even after millennia of use and centuries of study, nature still holds surprises for those who seek to understand her fundamental building blocks.

References

[1] An introduction to boron: history, sources, uses, and chemistry – PMC – https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1566642/

[2] Boron – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boron

[3] Boron | Elements | RSC Education – https://edu.rsc.org/elements/boron/2000018.article

[4] Facts About Boron | Live Science – https://www.livescience.com/28674-boron.html

[5] Boron | Properties, Uses, & Facts | Britannica – https://www.britannica.com/science/boron-chemical-element

[6] WebElements Periodic Table » Boron » historical information – https://www.webelements.com/boron/history.html

[7] Boron | Encyclopedia.com – https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/chemistry/compounds-and-elements/boron

[8] Boron – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table – https://periodic-table.rsc.org/element/5/boron

[9] Borax: History & Uses – Death Valley Natural History Association – https://dvnha.org/info-trip-planning/borax-history-uses/

[10] Borax: The Magic Crystal – THE MOJAVE PROJECT – https://mojaveproject.org/dispatches-item/borax-the-magic-crystal/

[11] Borax Mineral Properties, Occurrence, Uses » Geology Science – https://geologyscience.com/minerals/borate-minerals/borax/

[12] U.S. Borax History | 150 years of innovation | U.S. Borax – https://www.borax.com/about/history

[13] What is Borax? | Office for Science and Society – McGill University – https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history-you-asked/what-borax

[14] Borax – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax

[15] Borax Has Meant Big Business In California’s Death Valley – https://www.historynet.com/borax-meant-big-business-californias-death-valley/

[16] An introduction to boron: history, sources, uses, and chemistry – PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7889881/

[17] Joseph Louis Gay-lussac | Encyclopedia.com – https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/chemistry-biographies/joseph-louis-gay-lussac

[18] Boron – Discoverer – Year of Discovery – https://www.periodic-table.org/Boron-discoverer/

[19] Discovery of Boron – https://thechemistryguru.com/blog/its-discovery-of-boron-element/

[20] The True Story of How a False Theory Led to the Discovery of Boron – https://www.jargonium.com/post/the-true-story-of-how-a-false-theory-led-to-the-discovery-of-boron

[21] Boron – https://www.chemicool.com/elements/boron.html

[22] Davy’s Elements (1805-1824) | Chemistry | University of Waterloo – https://uwaterloo.ca/chemistry/community-outreach/timeline-of-elements/davys-elements-1805-1824

[23] Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac | Science History Institute – https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/scientific-biographies/joseph-louis-gay-lussac/

[24] Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Louis_Gay-Lussac

[25] Boron – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table – https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/5/boron

[26] When was boron discovered? – Answers – https://www.answers.com/Q/When_was_boron_discovered

[27] Jöns Jacob Berzelius – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6ns_Jacob_Berzelius

[28] Jöns Jacob Berzelius | EBSCO Research Starters – https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/jons-jacob-berzelius

[29] Jakob Berzelius – Linda Hall Library – https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/jakob-berzelius/

[30] Boron – The Chemical Elements – https://thechemicalelements.com/boron/

[31] Chemistry:Boron sulfide – HandWiki – https://handwiki.org/wiki/Chemistry:Boron_sulfide

[32] Chemical Formula for Boron Sulfide – https://www.easycalculation.com/chemistry/formula-boron-sulfide.html

[33] Berzelius’ World (1815-1844) | Chemistry | University of Waterloo – https://uwaterloo.ca/chemistry/community-outreach/timeline-of-elements/berzelius-world-1815-1844