178: oxygen Jun 4, 2015

A lot of recently discovered elements on the periodic table are given names after influential people, or the place it was discovered (can you guess where americium was discovered?). Oxygen, however, discovered in the late 18th century, comes from the French, "(principe) oxygène" which means "acidifying constituent". The reason behind this name was because at first it was held to be the essential component in the formation of acids.