section_path: History
section_name: History
paragraph_text: History
  
  The term " subatomic particle" is largely a retronym of the 1960s, used to distinguish a large number of baryons and mesons (which comprise hadrons) from particles that are now thought to be truly elementary. Before that hadrons were usually classified as "elementary" because their composition was unknown.
  
  A list of important discoveries follows: