 Cadmium ( Latin <unk> , Greek <unk> meaning " calamine " , a cadmium @-@ bearing mixture of minerals that was named after the Greek mythological character <unk> , <unk> , the founder of Thebes ) was discovered simultaneously in 1817 by Friedrich Stromeyer and Karl Samuel <unk> Hermann , both in Germany , as an impurity in zinc carbonate . Stromeyer found the new element as an impurity in zinc carbonate ( calamine ) , and , for 100 years , Germany remained the only important producer of the metal . The metal was named after the Latin word for calamine , because it was found in this zinc compound . Stromeyer noted that some impure samples of calamine changed color when heated but pure calamine did not . He was persistent in studying these results and eventually isolated cadmium metal by roasting and reducing the sulfide . The potential for cadmium yellow as pigment was recognized in the 1840s , but the lack of cadmium limited this application . 
