Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834–1907) was a Russian chemist best known for creating the Periodic Table and formulating the Periodic Law. Discover his life, innovations, predictions, influences, and enduring impact.
Introduction
Dmitri Mendeleev is celebrated as one of the giants of chemistry. His insight to arrange the chemical elements by their atomic weight and recurring properties laid the foundation for the modern Periodic Table. But he was more than just the “father of the Periodic Table”: he contributed to chemical theory, metrology, industry, education, and even national policy. His predictions of yet-undiscovered elements gave his system predictive power—not merely retrospective ordering.
Early Life and Family
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was born on 8 February 1834 (27 January old style) in Verkhnie Aremzyani, a village near Tobolsk, Siberia, Russian Empire.
He was the youngest of a large family; sources vary, but he was among 13 to 17 children, many of whom died in infancy.
His father, Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, was a teacher and principal who later went blind and lost his position. His mother, Maria Dmitrievna Kornilieva, came from a family of merchants and showed resilience: after her husband’s financial decline, she reopened a glass factory to support the family and ensure her children’s education.
When Mendeleev was 13, his father passed away, and the family’s glass factory burned down, so the family moved in hopes of educational opportunities.
In 1849, his mother took him across Russia from Tobolsk to Moscow, aiming for university admission; when Moscow declined, they went on to Saint Petersburg, where he entered the Main Pedagogical Institute in 1850.
Education & Early Career
He graduated from the Main Pedagogical Institute in 1855. Soon after, Mendeleev contracted tuberculosis, prompting his relocation to the Crimean Peninsula (to recover). There, he worked as a teacher in Simferopol. By 1857, he returned to Saint Petersburg and resumed advanced study and research.
Between 1859 and 1861, he traveled and studied in Europe (notably Heidelberg, Germany), working on research topics like capillarity, spectroscopy, and physical chemistry.
Back in Russia, he became professor at Saint Petersburg State University and the Saint Petersburg Technological Institute in the 1860s. His doctoral work (earned in 1865) was titled “A Discourse on the Compounds of Alcohol and Water.”
The Periodic Law & Periodic Table
Formulation & Publication
By the late 1860s, chemistry was accumulating many known elements, but no comprehensive organizing principle existed. Mendeleev sought to systematize them.
In 1869, he published his classification of the elements in The Relation between the Properties and Atomic Weights of the Elements, proposing that when elements are arranged by increasing atomic weight, their properties recur periodically.
Mendeleev’s table included gaps for elements then unknown; his bold step was to predict the existence and properties of elements (like “eka-aluminium,” “eka-silicon,” “eka-boron”) that would later be discovered.
He also re-evaluated atomic weights and properties of known elements whose measured values didn’t fit his pattern, even suggesting measurement errors in some cases (e.g. uranium’s atomic weight) to align with his system.
Validation & Impact
His predictive successes were dramatic:
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Gallium (discovered 1875) matched “eka-aluminium” properties.
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Scandium (1879) and Germanium (1886) also matched his predictions closely.
These confirmations elevated the periodic table from a curious arrangement to a powerful scientific tool.
Because of this, Mendeleev’s periodic classification became the backbone of modern chemistry, guiding the understanding of element behavior, predicting new elements, and forming the basis for later modifications (e.g. atomic number ordering).
Other Scientific & Industrial Contributions
While the Periodic Table is his most famous achievement, Mendeleev’s interests and influence were broad:
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Metrology & Standardization: He served as director of Russia’s Bureau of Weights and Measures, helping introduce the metric system in Russia and standardize measurement systems.
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Petroleum & Petrochemistry: He studied oil composition and supported the development of the Russian oil industry. He theorized about the abiogenic origin of petroleum (i.e. formation from deep Earth processes) as a hypothesis.
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Chemical Technology & Industry: He worked on explosives (e.g. pyro-collodion), agricultural chemistry (fertilizer), and industrial chemistry.
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Economics & Policy: Mendeleev was active in Russian industry policy, tariffs, and trade, arguing for protectionist measures to foster domestic industry.
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Science Outreach & Education: His textbook Principles of Chemistry was influential, and through his lectures and publications he shaped generations of Russian chemists.
He also published on diverse topics: solutions, liquid expansion with heat, critique of spiritualism, and even thought experiments on hypothetical elements lighter than hydrogen.
Challenges, Controversies & Personal Life
Mendeleev’s personal life had complexities:
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He married Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva in 1862.
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Later, he courted Anna Ivanovna Popova and controversially married her while still married to his first wife, creating moral and professional friction.
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Because of these marital issues, he was denied membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences despite his scientific stature.
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In 1890, he resigned his chair at the University over disputes with educational authorities.
As for the famous anecdote—that he fixed the 40% vodka proof standard in Russia—this is more myth than fact. While he worked on alcohol-water mixtures in his doctoral research, there is no solid evidence he mandated vodka strength.
Mendeleev was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1905, 1906, 1907), though he never won it.
Death & Commemoration
Dmitri Mendeleev died on 2 February 1907 (20 January old style) in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
His legacy is honored globally:
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The element 101, mendelevium (Md), was named after him.
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A lunar crater “Mendeleev” bears his name.
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In Russia, institutes, monuments, streets, and museums commemorate him—e.g. his memorial museum in Saint Petersburg, and the Mendeleev Institute for Metrology.
Famous Quotes & Insights
Mendeleev was known for incisive statements on science, society, and thought. Some attributed quotes include:
“There is nothing better than this table, it is the Holy of Holies of chemistry.”
— referring to the Periodic Table (often cited in chemistry lore)
“The most important fact to note is that petroleum was born in the depths of the earth, and it is only there that we must seek its origin.”
— expressing his hypothesis on petroleum origin.
His last reportedly uttered words—though possibly apocryphal—were:
“Doctor, you have science, I have faith.”
— suggesting a poetic view in his final moments.
These quotes reflect a man deeply committed to science, yet aware of its limits and human dimension.
Lessons & Legacy
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Science as vision and prediction
Mendeleev’s genius was not only in arranging known data but in predicting the unknown. He left gaps in his table as placeholders for future discoveries. -
Boldness in correcting accepted beliefs
He challenged accepted atomic weights and properties when they conflicted with his system, trusting in internal consistency over consensus. -
Interdisciplinary thinking
He did not silo himself in chemistry alone—his work extended to metrology, industrial policy, petroleum science, and standardization. -
Persistence amid hardship
From a modest and troubled childhood, through financial strain, illness, and social controversy, he persisted in scholarship. -
Legacy beyond accolades
Although he never got a Nobel Prize, his impact pervades modern chemistry, teaching, and scientific culture. -
Science and society interwoven
Mendeleev engaged with national industrial development, trade policy, standards, and infrastructure, seeing science as a tool for national progress—not just pure theory.