Compressed Gas: Helium Helium was discovered by a French astronomer named Pierre-Julius-Cesar Janssen. The French astronomer got evidence for the element during solar eclipse in 1868. He detected new lines in the solar spectrum. Later in 1895 Sir William Ramsay discovered it in clevite, a uranium mineral. Although it was discovered by Sir William Ramsay, the identification of the element was left up to Sir William Crookes and Sir Norman Lockyer. The origin of the Name - From the Greek "helium" meaning sun. The use would be for filling balloons, intern gas shield for arc welding, protective gas in growing silicon, cooling medium for nuclear reactors, and gas