Bernard Courtois

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Bernard Courtois, also spelled Barnard Courtois, (12 February 1777–27 September 1838) was a French chemist, born in Dijon, France who discovered iodine in 1811. While isolating sodium and potassium compounds from seaweed ash, he discovered iodine after he added sulfuric acid to the seaweed ash. It was in the form of purple vapor. In conjunction with Friedrich Sertürner, Courtois isolated morphine, the first known alkaloid, from opium.