Carl Freiherr Auer von Welsbach (born 1 September 1858 in Vienna; † 4 August 1929 in Mölbling, Carinthia) was an Austrian chemist and entrepreneur. He gained credit as an explorer of the four chemical elements neodymium, praseodymium, ytterbium and lutetium and as the inventor of the incandescent stocking in the gas light ("Auerlicht"), the metal thread lamp and the ignition stone ("Auermetall") in the lighter. He founded Treibacher Industrie AG and the Auer-Gesellschaft in Berlin and is the creator of the Osram brand.
