Robert Bunsen. Coloured portrait of Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811-99), German chemist. He & Kirchoff founded the science of spectroscopy in 1859, and invented the spectroscope for analysing the unique spectrum of light given off by each chemical element. They discovered the elements rubidium & caesium. Bunsen's experiments showed that organic groups act like the simple atoms of inorganic chemicals. In 1834 he discovered that hydrated iron oxide was the antidote to arsenic poison. He invented a photometer, a filter pump, and the zinc-carbon battery. He also popularised the Bunsen Burner which had been invented by Faraday. Engraving by C. Cook.