The discovery of the elements known to exist today is presented here in chronological order. The elements are listed generally in the order in which each was first defined as the pure element, as the exact date of discovery of most elements cannot be accurately defined. There are no written records for the discoveries of the first few elements that were known in antiquity.

Given is each element's name, atomic number, year of first report, name of the discoverer, and some notes related to the discovery.