Dmitri Mendeleev

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was a Russian chemist. He lived from 1834 to 1907. He is famous for creating the periodic table of elements. This table helps organize all known chemical elements.

Mendeleev had a big idea called the periodic law. This law shows that elements repeat their properties in a predictable way when arranged by their atomic weights.

His table was special. It wasn’t just about elements scientists knew at the time. Mendeleev used his table to predict three new elements that had not been discovered yet. He described what these elements — germanium, gallium, and scandium — might be like. Later, these elements were found, and his predictions were correct!

Because of his amazing work, a new element called mendelevium was named after him. It was made in a laboratory many years after he died. Mendeleev’s periodic table is still used today by scientists and students all over the world.

Early life

Dmitri Mendeleev was born in a village near Tobolsk in Siberia. His father was a school principal and teacher. His mother’s family were merchants. Mendeleev was one of 17 children, but not all of them lived. After his father lost his sight and his mother’s factory burned down, Mendeleev moved to Saint Petersburg to study.

He studied at the Main Pedagogical Institute. Later, he taught science in Crimea after getting better from tuberculosis. Mendeleev worked in Germany with liquids and the spectroscope. In 1861, he published a textbook and won an award. He married in 1862 and became a professor in Saint Petersburg, helping make it a great place for learning chemistry.

Periodic table

See also: History of the periodic table

In 1863, scientists knew about 56 different elements. They kept finding new ones. Dmitri Mendeleev made an important discovery while writing a chemistry book. He noticed patterns in the elements and created the periodic table. He arranged the elements by their atomic weight and saw that their properties repeated in a pattern.

Mendeleev’s table was special because he left spaces for elements that had not yet been found. He guessed what these new elements would be like. Later, three elements he guessed about — germanium, gallium, and scandium — were discovered, and they matched his guesses perfectly. He also fixed some facts about known elements, like uranium, so they fit better with his table.

Later life

Dmitri Mendeleev married Anna Ivanovna Popova in 1882 after his divorce. This caused some trouble and stopped him from joining the Russian Academy of Sciences. He had children from both marriages.

Mendeleev left Saint Petersburg University in 1890 and later led the Bureau of Weights and Measures. He studied petroleum and helped create Russia’s first oil refinery. Mendeleev was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry three times but did not win. He died in 1907 in Saint Petersburg from influenza.

Other achievements

Dmitri Mendeleev made many important contributions to science beyond his famous periodic table. He helped start the Russian Chemical Society in 1868. He studied ways to protect local industries and improve farming.

Mendeleev also worked on understanding how liquids change with heat. He helped bring the metric system to the Russian Empire. He created a special kind of explosive material called pyrocollodion, but it wasn’t used by the navy. He also explored where oil comes from and suggested it forms deep inside the Earth.

Activities beyond chemistry

In the 1870s, Dmitri Mendeleev wrote about many topics besides chemistry. He studied Russian industry, farming, and the Arctic Sea. He helped improve Russia's oil industry by comparing it to the industry in Pennsylvania. He also worked to standardize measurements in Russia, introducing the metric system and setting up inspection systems.

Mendeleev spoke out against spiritualism, believing it slowed scientific progress. There is a popular story that he set the strength of vodka at 40%, but this is not true. The standard was set before he was born, and his work focused on measurements and trade, not alcohol production.

Commemoration

Dmitri Mendeleev is remembered in many places and objects named for him. In Saint Petersburg, the D. I. Mendeleev Institute for Metrology carries his name, and a statue of him is nearby. The street in front of the Saint Petersburg State University is called Mendeleevskaya liniya, and a museum keeps his papers safe.

Mendeleev's ideas are important far beyond Russia. A university in Moscow is named the D. Mendeleyev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. A special chemical, Mendelevium, was named after him. Even a mineral and a spot on the moon carry his name, showing how people still think about his work.

Works

Dmitri Mendeleev wrote many important books and articles. His most famous works are about the periodic law and the properties of elements. He also wrote about solutions, gas pressure, and Russia. Many of his writings are collected in three volumes.

He wrote 54 articles for the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, sharing his knowledge with readers.