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In 1871, existence of gallium was first predicted by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev and called the element eka-aluminum.

Gallium was discovered spectroscopically by French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875 by its characteristic spectrum in an examination of a sphalerite sample.

Later that year, Lecoq obtained the free metal by electrolysis of its hydroxide in potassium hydroxide solution.

Gallium wets glass or porcelain and forms a brilliant mirror when it is painted on glass.

It is widely used in doping semiconductors and producing solid-state devices such as transistors.

Low melting gallium alloys are used in some medical thermometers as non-toxic substitutes for mercury.

Gallium arsenide is capable of converting electricity directly into coherent light.