Charles Hatchett FRS FRSE (2 January 1765 – 10 March 1847[1]) was an English mineralogist and analytical chemist who discovered the element niobium, for which he proposed the name "columbium".

Charles Hatchett attended a private school, Fountayne's, in Marylebone Park, and was a self-taught mineralogist and analytical chemist.

Their children included: Following their marriage, Hatchett and his wife traveled extensively in Poland and Russia for 2 years before settling in Hammersmith.

With an introduction from Sir Joseph Banks, he visited chemist Martin Klaproth, geologist and botanist Peter Pallas, Neapolitan mineralogist Andrea Savaresi, and other scientists.

[8] In 1798, Hatchett was asked by members of the Privy Council to work with Henry Cavendish and assess "the state of the coins of the realm" to ensure that they were not being adulterated.

In 1846, German chemist Heinrich Rose argued that there were two additional elements in tantalite, which he named niobium and pelopium for the children of the Cyclops.

He inherited his father's coach-making business and pursued interests in collecting books (including a First Folio) manuscripts, paintings, and musical instruments.

His loss was lamented by colleagues such as Thomas Thomson (1773–1852), who wrote that Hatchett "was an active chemist…but unfortunately this most amiable and accomplished man has been lost to science for more than a quarter of a century; the baneful effects of wealth, and cares of a lucrative and extensive business, having completely waned him from scientific pursuits".

[2] The house was designed by Sir Robert Taylor for George Clive, with modifications by the Italian architect Placido Columbani in 1780.

[2] In 1818 Hatchett either bought back[2] or chose to no longer lease out the house that had been built by his father in 1771, Belle Vue, 92 Cheyne Walk, in Chelsea, London.

[17] A grade II listed building, it has a large central portion with bay windows back and front, and two wings.