When Marguerite Perey named element 87 – then only known as actinium K – in 1946, her first choice was catium, since at that time it was believed that francium was the most electropositive element (hence the derivation from cation). Her supervisor, Irène Joliot-Curie, objected to it because it was more suggestive of cat – and gryphons like Gallus are sometimes called catbirbs, hence his inclusion here. The name Gallus also suggests "Gallic", i.e. France.

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