Dmitri+Mendeleev

﻿ ﻿Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was the youngest child of a Russian Literature and Philosophy prefesor. He was born in Tobol'sk, Russia in 1834. Mendeleev proved not to be an outstanding acedemic mind but only an oustanding critic of the formal studies. However, after the death of his father, Dmitri and his mother moved to St. Petersburg in the hopes of pursuing a higher education, but due to his lacking academic background he was denied admission to two universities before finally settling with the Main Pedagogical Institute (aka the St. Petersburg Institute). Mendeleev worked hard and graduated the institute and obtained an occupation teaching science. After a while he acheived his Master's degree in 1856. Soon after, he was offered a job as a Chemistry profesor at St. Petersburg University (one of the two universities he had been rejected earlier in his life). He would retain his position at the St. Petersburg University until 1890. During Mendeleev's stay at the university, he was never able to find a textbook that fit his needs, and so he began writing his own. This simple task, performed during a two year time-span, provided a basis for modern theory. - While writing his book he began placing his findings in groups or families. In doing so Mendeleev noticed patterns forming within the elements. His scientific-self soon began a game of solitare with the elements. Dmitri formed cards for each of the 63 known elements of the time. These cards contained information about each element. Each card showed the element's symbol, atomic weight, and characteristics of chemical and physical properties. Soon enough the first periodic table was formed. However, Mendeleev was not the only genius to provide a periodic table of elements but he was the only scientist to provide adequate information about each and every intricacy of the table, which was something others could not do. Dmitri also found holes in his table that he left open for the discovery of new elements. Many were skeptic at first, but then the elements germanium, scandium, and gallium were founded, which conveniently fit three of the openings in which Mendeleev had left in his table. However, his table of elements did have some flaws that modern scientists have weeded out. Although the 63 elements Mendeleev had to work with in 1869 is a rather small number in comparrison to the 118 we have today, he still created a basis on which all scientist you for their studies. He even came within one vote of winning the Noble Peace Prize a year before his death. - "Western Oregon" "The American" "Google"