(1731-1810)

Henry Cavendish was an English scientist who was interested in the study of how different gases reacted in different situations. Cavendish studied water and was the first to name what he considered were its two components. He called them "phlogiston" and "dephlogiscated air." He certainly had the right idea, but the wrong names. The Frenchman Lavoisier later renamed water's elements, "oxygen" and "hydrogen;" certainly more memorable words, since they're the ones we use today. (See also: Stahl, Lavoisier)