Wollaston (1766 - 1828)
was an
English chemist and
physicist,
but also interested in
astronomy and
botany.
He is best known for his formulation of a table
of relative particle weights, also known
as "chemical equivalents".
He discovered
palladium (named after the recently discovered
astreroid Pallas) and rhodium (after the
Greek word for rose) during his studies
of platinum.
He was also the first person to observe
ultraviolet radiation, and in 1801 he
discovered dark streaks in the spectrum of
sunlight. Later, these lines were studied
by Joseph von Fraunhofer, and they are
now known as Fraunhofer lines.
The mineral Wollastonite is named in
his honor.