Martin Heinrich Klaproth (December 1, 1743 - January 1, 1817) was a German chemist. During a large portion of his life he followed the profession of an apothecary. He did much to improve and systematize the processes of analytical chemistry and mineralogy. He was the first to discover uranium while studying the mineral pitchblende. He discovered zirconium, and characterized uranium and zirconium as distinct elements, though he did not obtain any of them in the pure metallic state. He elucidated the composition of newly recognized elements: tellurium, strontium, cerium and chromium. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1795 and a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1804. He died in 1817 at the age of 73.