In 1770 a Scottish physician and Chemist Daniel Rutherford performed a simple experiment with which he discovered nitrogen. Rutherford being with an empty bottle that he turned upside down in a pan of water so that the air was trapped. A buring candle was placed inside the bottle with the trapped air causing the water to rise a bit. The part of the air that seemed to "disappear" when the candle was bured was oxygen gas and the part of the air that did not "disappear" Ruthford discovered Nitrogen.
