Artificial radioactive element properties unknown	memory peg
	1984 Gottfried Münzenberg, Peter Armbruster and co-workers, Darmstadt, Germany
	Hessen, German state

First prepared in 1984 by Gottfried Münzenberg, Peter Armbruster, H. Folger, Fritz Peter Heßberger, Sigurd Hofmann, J. Keller, Klaus Poppensieker, Willibrord Reisdorf, Karl-Heinz Schmidt, H.-J. Schött, Matti Leino, and R. Hingmann at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany.

The systematic IUPAC name was Unniloctium (Uno). Although the discoverers wanted to name the new element in 1992 Hassium, which proposal was followed by the American Chemical Society in March 1994, in IUPAC nomenclature committee proposed in August 1994 Hahnium (Ha), after Otto Hahn (cf. Dubnium). However, finally Hassium (Hs) was ratified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistr (IUPAC) Council meeting in Geneva during August 1997 (see "Naming the transfermium elements" on the Mendelevium page).

After Hassia, the Latin name for the German state Hessen (capital Wiesbaden). The discoverers of element 108 made this proposal in ordor to honor this German State, in which Darmstadt is located, because it provides a large part of the GSI-budget. In 1996 Gottfried Münzenberg formulated the choice as "womit wir unser schönes Hessenland gewürdigt sehen" (that we see our beautiful land of Hesse honoured).

Some sources mention erroneously that element 108 is named after a person, in analogy to the other elements from 104 to 109. The SMI Corporation found for its Periodic Table a Henri Hass, Swiss born Russian chemist known for work in thermodydamics. Others came with a Henry Bohn Hass, head of the Chemistry Department at Purdue university (West Lafayette, Indiana) in the 1940s.

Variant names of elements 104-108
No.	syst. IUPAC	IUPAC 1997	proposals
104	Unq Unnilquadium	Rf Rutherfordium	Db Dubnium (1) Ku Kurchatovium (3)
105	Unp Unnilpentium	Db Dubnium	Jo Joliotium (1) Ha Hahnium (2) Ns Nielsbohrium (3)
106	Unh Unnilhexium	Sg Seaborgium	Rf Rutherfordium (1)
107	Uns Unnilseptium	Bh Bohrium (1)	Ns Nielsbohrium (2, 4)
108	Uno Unniloctium	Hs Hassium	Ha Hahnium (1)
(1) IUPAC 1994; (2) ACS 1994; (3) ОИЯИ (JINR); (4) GSI See "Naming the transfermium elements" on the Mendelevium page

Further reading:

• Glenn T. Seaborg, Transuranium elements: A Half Century. Remarks at ACS Symposium to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Transuranium Elements, Washington D.C., August 27, 1990. (PDF-file available on-line).