ðɛɹwˌɜːɹ æt lˈiːst fˈoːɹ ɛɹˈoʊniəs ænd ɪŋkəmplˈiːt dɪskˈʌvɚɹiz bᵻfˌoːɹ mˌɑːɹɡɚɹˈiːt pˈɛɹi ʌvðə kjˈʊɹɹi ˈɪnstɪtˌuːt ɪn pˈæɹɪs, fɹˈæns dɪskˈʌvɚd fɹˈænsiəm ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd θˈɜːɾi nˈaɪn baɪ pjˈʊɹɹᵻfˌaɪɪŋ ɐ sˈæmpəl ʌv æktˈɪniəm tˈuːhˈʌndɹɪd twˈɛnti sˈɛvən, wˌɪtʃ hɐdbɪn ɹᵻpˈoːɹɾᵻd tə hæv ɐ dᵻkˈeɪ ˈɛnɚdʒi ʌv tˈuːhˈʌndɹɪd twˈɛnti kˈiː vˈiː.
There were at least four erroneous and incomplete discoveries before Marguerite Perey of the Curie Institute in Paris, France discovered francium in 1939 by purifying a sample of actinium-227, which had been reported to have a decay energy of 220 keV.