The Discovery of Magnesium

IN a recent little book entitled “The Story of Magnesium”, issued by the American Society of Metals in 1949, the author, W. H. Gross, states (p. 17): “The discovery of magnesium is generally attributed to Sir Humphrey [ sic ] Davy in 1808. He did not actually obtain magnesium in metallic form, but merely established the fact that magnesium oxide was the oxide of a new metal. Magnesium was first isolated in 1828 by the French scientist Bussy….”