Samarium - 62Sm: historical information
Samarium was discovered spectroscopically by its sharp absorption lines in 1853 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in an "earth" called didymia. The element was isolated in 1879 by Lecoq de Boisbaudran from the mineral samarskite, named in honour of a Russian mine official, Colonel Samarski, and which therefore gave samarium its name.