17 October 2009
Samarium, element 62, is named after samarskite, the mineral from which it was first isolated. The mineral, in turn, takes its name from a 19th century Russian mining official, Vasily Samarsky-Bykhovets.
Samarium was isolated in 1879 by French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran who gave the element its name.
Samarium has the chemical symbol Sm.
Sources:
Oxford English Dictionary, samarskite, 2nd Edition, 1989.
Oxford English Dictionary, samarium, 2nd Edition, 1989.