Dmitri Mendeleev

Dmitri Mendeleev

Dmitri Mendeleev was a clever scientist from Russia. He loved studying chemicals and wanted to find a way to organize them all. In 1869, he made a special chart called the periodic table of elements. This table helps scientists see patterns in how chemicals behave.

Mendeleev was born in a small village near Tobolsk in Siberia. He was one of 17 children! When he was young, his father could no longer work, and his mother took him to try to go to Moscow University. They then went to Saint Petersburg, where he started studying science.

One amazing thing about Mendeleev’s table was that he left spaces for elements that had not been discovered yet. He even guessed what those missing elements might be like. Later, three new elements—germanium, gallium, and scandium—were found, and they matched his guesses perfectly!

Because of his important work, scientists later named a special made‑on‑Earth element after him: mendelevium. His periodic table is still used today by scientists all around the world.

Mendeleev also helped Russia use the metric system for measuring things. He studied many topics beyond chemistry, like Russian industry, farming, and even helped start Russia’s first oil refinery. He passed away in 1907 in Saint Petersburg, but his ideas continue to help scientists everywhere.