When the confirmation of the 1974 discovery of element 106 was published in Phys. Rev. Letters in 1994, the discovery group began to think about naming it. There were many discussions and proposals, but the more co-discoverer Albert Ghiorso thought about it the more he believed that 'in the great panoply of names already picked for the heavy element region the name 'seaborgium' would be of equal worth to curium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, lawrencium, rutherfordium, hahnium, nielsbohrium, and meitnerium' (The names hahnium and nielsbohrium did not survive the final IUPAC 1997 compromise agreement and approval). Ghiorso obtained a consensus of support from the discovery group and many others, and finally from Seaborg's wife Helen, and then from Glenn Seaborg himself. The long struggle for IUPAC approval and some of the 'inside story', the 'deals', and widespread international support required before final approval of 'seaborgium' in 1997 will be discussed.

Elemental challenge: Approval of Ghiorso's proposal of the name "seaborgium" for element 106

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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