The world of chemistry could not have made the enormous strides it has made had it not been for Mendeleyev's periodic table which he formulated in 1869. It replaced confusion with order in the knowledge of the known elements and established a basic law of modern chemistry.

Born in Tobolsk, Siberia, in 1834, Mendeleyev's interest in science began when he was still a small child. His mother, sole support of the family after his father's death, encouraged and sustained him in the pursuit of a scientific education. In spite of a diagnosis of tuberculosis and a warning that he had only six months to live, his determination and self-discipline resulted in a miraculous recovery. Appointed a full professor of chemistry at the University of St. Petersburg, he wrote the first Russian textbook on organic chemistry, for which he received the coveted Domidov Prize. He formed the Russian Chemical Society and served as its chairman.

Then at the age of thirty-five he developed his periodic table that was to bring him lasting fame. It established the relationship among the sixty-three known elements and predicted the discovery of three new ones. While the periodic table was long ignored in science circles, all doubts about his daring theory vanished as his predictions came true and he took his place as one of the giants of the scientific world.

Simple and unpretentious, Mendeleyev cared little for the honors heaped upon him. His only desire was to help extend the boundaries of scientific knowledge. He died at the age of seventy-three, after a lifetime of varied accomplishments—as a teacher of remarkable skill, as a fighter for social justice, as a scientist who helped develop Russia's natural resources. Element 101, created in 1955, is called mendelevium in his honor.

From the book