Chlorine was discovered in 1774 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. He produced chlorine gas by reacting manganese dioxide with hydrochloric acid and observed its distinctive yellow-green color and bleaching properties. However, Scheele did not recognize it as an element. It was later, in 1810, that Sir Humphry Davy confirmed chlorine as an element and gave it the name "chlorine," derived from the Greek word "chloros," meaning yellow-green.
