Numerous acids and salts of this group have a venerable history, and chemistry systems, where they exist, dates back to the studies John Dalton devoted to the behavior of hydrogen sulfide in aqueous solutions of sulfur dioxide (1808). This solution now has the name of Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Wackenroder, who conducted a systematic study (1846). Over the next 60–80 years, numerous studies have shown the presence of ions, in particular tetrathionate and pentathionate anion ( and , respectively).