who discovered platinum

Platinum was discovered by Spanish explorer Antonio de Ulloa in 1735 during an expedition in South America, where he observed Native Americans mining the metal in Colombia and Peru. Although platinum had been used by pre-Columbian indigenous peoples, Ulloa was the first European to report its existence and systematically study it. Earlier references include a mention by Italian humanist Julius Caesar Scaliger in 1557, but Ulloa is credited with the formal discovery in European history.