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Neon
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Neon with atomic number 10 is the second noble gas in group 18. Despite the fact that Ne is rare on earth it is the fifth most abundant element in the cosmos. Its name is taken from the Greek  word "novum" meaning "new". This name was suggested by the discoverers son.
With the knowledge of his previous discovery of Argon in 1895 Sir William Ramsay continued his research to the remaining elements in liquefied air. Three years later in 1898 Sir Ramsay, together with his 26 year old assitant Morris W. Travers, discovers in barely five months’ time three new elements. It all began in May 1898 when they cooled down air till it became liquid. By slowly raising the temperature element after element began to boil off , distillation.
They collected the boiling gasses one by one and analyzed them with spectroscopy. In this way they found the first new gas in May "Krypton". After this the collected another sample out of the residual liquid. By bringing this in the spectroscope it gave a strong red spectral line, and so in June 1898 "Neon" the new one was discovered.  
Due to the fact that Neon as a noble gas cannot bond to another solid element its abundance is almost strictly in the atmosphere of the planet. Given that it is also lighter than air it can escape to the earth’s atmosphere.
Practically Neon is mainly used for its color. In 1902 L’air Liquide is founded by the Frenchmen Georges Claude. It is a company which produces, as it name suggest Liquefied Air and Nitrogen. As a byproduct they produce neon gas, with no demand. Inspired by Geissler and Moore, both active in gas discharge tubes Claude starts in 1910 with the production of a lamp for common household use, with no success. When in 1912 he starts with lighting for advertisement in Paris the people loved it. It still took up to 1923 to introduce the first Neon tubes to America.
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