Who was Dmitri Mendeleev?

 

Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist and inventor who is best known for his contribution to the development of the periodic table of elements. He was born on February 8, 1834, in Tobolsk, Siberia, Russia, and he passed away on February 2, 1907, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Mendeleev's most significant achievement was the creation and  publication of his periodic table in 1869. He organized the known elements at the time based on their atomic masses and grouped them based on their similar chemical properties, arranging them in a tabular format. This layout allowed for the identification of patterns and relationships among the elements, leading to the discovery of missing elements and the prediction of their properties.

One of Mendeleev's most famous moments came when he left gaps in his periodic table to account for undiscovered elements. He accurately predicted the properties of these missing elements, including their atomic masses and chemical behaviors. When some of these elements were discovered later, such as gallium and germanium, they matched Mendeleev's predictions remarkably well, cementing his reputation as one of the greatest chemists in history.

Mendeleev's periodic table formed the foundation for the modern periodic table that we use today. His work revolutionized the field of chemistry and provided a framework for understanding the relationships between different elements and their properties. Mendeleev's contributions to science extend beyond the periodic table, as he also conducted research in various other areas of chemistry, including organic chemistry, thermochemistry, and spectroscopy.

There were some criticisms and controversies surrounding his table, he was criticized for downplaying the contribution of other chemists who had proposed a periodic table of elements prior to his. Lothar Meyer's work on an earlier version of the periodic table had been largely ignored by Mendeleev. Mendeleev's table left three elements unclassified as they couldn't find a suitable place in the table. He made educated guesses on their placement using atomic weights and other parameters. Mendeleev was also criticized for his staunch refusal to accept the discoveries of other chemists. He refused to accept the discoveries of Campbell Morris, who had proven the existence of atoms in ions. There were also criticisms about his refusal to accept the discovery of isotopes, which he believed to be impossible according to his version of the periodic table.

Throughout his life, Mendeleev made numerous contributions to science and received several honors and awards for his work. He was a professor at the Saint Petersburg Technological Institute and the University of St. Petersburg, where he mentored many students who went on to become notable chemists themselves. Mendeleev's legacy continues to be celebrated, and his periodic table remains a cornerstone of chemistry education and research.

During his life some major historical events occurred: the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the invention of the telephone (1876), the invention of the phonograph (1877), the completion of the trans-Siberian Railway (1891), the Spanish-American War (1898), the First World War (1914-1918) and the Russian Revolution (1917)

The element Mendelevium (Md) is named after his name and is number 101 on the periodic table.