Willian Prout
Following the classification of the chemical elements by Antoine Lavoisier and the uncovering of the alkalis by Humphry Davy, the latter made the assumption that the undecompounded substances
might be made of hydrogen with another principle yet unknown in the separate form
. William Prout expanded on this idea, remarking atomic weights might be multiples of that of hydrogen.
The proton was named in 1920 by Ernest Rutherford to give credit to Prout. Similarly, the Prout measurement unit was named after Prout by Enos E. Witmer