Which element is named after Poland?

Polonium is the chemical element named after Poland.

Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered polonium in 1898 while studying pitchblende, a uranium ore. Marie Curie chose the name polonium to honor her homeland, Poland, which at that time was divided among neighboring empires and did not exist as an independent state.

Polonium has the atomic number 84 and is a highly radioactive metalloid. The isotope polonium-210 emits powerful alpha radiation and occurs naturally in tiny amounts in uranium decay chains. Because alpha particles do not travel far through skin, external exposure differs from internal contamination, which can be extremely dangerous.

Other place-named elements include francium, germanium and scandium. Polonium is especially notable because its name carried a political and personal tribute as well as a geographic reference.