<P> The history of the periodic table is also a history of the discovery of the chemical elements . The first person in history to discover a new element was Hennig Brand, a bankrupt German merchant . Brand tried to discover the Philosopher's Stone--a mythical object that was supposed to turn inexpensive base metals into gold . In 1669 (or later), his experiments with distilled human urine resulted in the production of a glowing white substance, which he called "cold fire" (kaltes Feuer). He kept his discovery secret until 1680, when Robert Boyle rediscovered phosphorus and published his findings . The discovery of phosphorus helped to raise the question of what it meant for a substance to be an element . </P> <P> In 1661, Boyle defined an element as "those primitive and simple Bodies of which the mixt ones are said to be composed, and into which they are ultimately resolved ." </P> <P> Lavoisier's Traité Élémentaire de Chimie (Elementary Treatise of Chemistry), which was written in 1789 and first translated into English by the writer Robert Kerr, is considered to be the first modern textbook about chemistry . Lavoisier defined an element as a substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by a chemical reaction . This simple definition served for a century and lasted until the discovery of subatomic particles . Lavoisier's book contained a list of "simple substances" that Lavoisier believed could not be broken down further, which included oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, mercury, zinc and sulfur, which formed the basis for the modern list of elements . Lavoisier's list also included' light' and' caloric', which at the time were believed to be material substances . He has classified these substances into metals and non metals . While many leading chemists refused to believe Lavoisier's new revelations, the Elementary Treatise was written well enough to convince the younger generation . However, Lavoisier's descriptions of his elements lack completeness, as he only classified them as metals and non-metals . </P> <P> In 1815, the English physician and chemist William Prout noticed that atomic weights seemed to be multiples of that of hydrogen . </P>

Who are the major scientists in the development of the periodic table