The History of Hydrogen
Hydrogen was officially discovered in 1766 by Henry Cavendish, a British philosopher and scientist.
Many had interacted with the highly flammable gas before, like Robert Boyle, but they failed to recognize hydrogen as an element. Cavendish was the first scientist to officially determine that hydrogen was, in fact, an element. He made this discovery when he collected hydrogen over mercury. Although he was correct in categorizing hydrogen as an element, Cavendish thought that hydrogen formed through the metal rather than the acid, which we now know is false.
Hydrogen was named by a different figure, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, a French chemist. He suggested the name for hydrogen after the Greek words "hydro" and "genes" which means "water generator."