Daniel Rutherford discovered nitrogen in 1772 while conducting experiments at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. During his work on the properties of air, he isolated a component of air that did not support combustion nor respiration, which he named ‘noxious air’ or ‘fixed air’ at the time. This gas was later identified as nitrogen.
Rutherford’s experimentation involved removing oxygen from a sample of air, leading him to conclude that this remaining gas was a distinct element. His discovery was significant because it expanded the understanding of the atmosphere and laid the groundwork for future studies on gases and elemental chemistry.