Beryllium was found in 1798 and is a chemical element which is only found naturally when combined with other elements in around 30 different minerals the most important of which are Bertrandite (also known as the gemstone Tiffany Stone), Beryl, Aquamarine, Emerald and Chrysoberyl.
Beryllium is a steely grey colour and it has many highly desirable properties including being one of the lightest of all metals and also having one of the highest melting points. It is also quite hard and brittle. Beryllium is increasingly used as an alloying material and interestingly enough, the addition of a small amount to Copper, produces a Bronze that is harder, stronger and more elastic than Copper, yet it retains the good electrical conductivity which Copper has, hence it is used for making gears, springs and other machine parts.
Furthermore, because of its high melting point, Beryllium is used in the making of rocket nose cones and in x-ray apparatus because out of all metals, it is the most "transparent" to x-ray, meaning x-ray radiaton can pass through it without being obstructed.
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