Dmitri Mendeleev

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev ( MEN-dəl-AY-əf; 8 February [O.S. 27 January] 1834 – 2 February [O.S. 20 January] 1907) was a distinguished Russian chemist, celebrated for formulating the periodic law and constructing an early iteration of the periodic table of elements. He leveraged the periodic law not only to refine the accepted properties of existing elements, such as the valence and atomic weight of uranium, but also to accurately predict the characteristics of three then-undiscovered elements: germanium, gallium, and scandium. The synthetic element Mendelevium was subsequently named in his honor.

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev ( MEN-dəl-AY-əf; 8 February [O.S. 27 January] 1834 – 2 February [O.S. 20 January] 1907) was a Russian chemist known for formulating the periodic law and creating a version of the periodic table of elements. He used the periodic law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known elements, such as the valence and atomic weight of uranium, but also to predict the properties of three elements that were yet to be discovered (germanium, gallium, and scandium). The synthetic element Mendelevium is named in his honor.

Early Life

Mendeleev was born in Verkhnie Aremzyani, a village situated near Tobolsk in Siberia, to Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev (1783–1847) and Maria Dmitrievna Mendeleeva (née Kornilieva) (1793–1850). His father, Ivan, served as a school principal and an instructor in fine arts, politics, and philosophy at the Tambov and Saratov gymnasiums. Ivan's father, Pavel Maximovich Sokolov, was a Russian Orthodox priest originating from the Tver region. In adherence to the clerical customs of that era, Pavel's children received new surnames upon entering the theological seminary; Ivan adopted the surname Mendeleev, derived from a local landlord's name.

Maria Kornilieva belonged to a prominent family of Tobolsk merchants, recognized as the founders of Siberia's first printing house. Their lineage was traced to Yakov Korniliev, a 17th-century posad man who became a prosperous merchant. In 1889, a local librarian asserted in a Tobolsk newspaper article that Yakov was a baptized Teleut, an ethnic minority then referred to as "white Kalmyks." However, due to the absence of supporting sources and documented biographical facts, this claim is largely dismissed as mythical by biographers. Following Mendeleev's death in 1908, a niece published Family Chronicles. Memories about D. I. Mendeleev, recounting a "family legend" that Maria's grandfather had married "a Kyrgyz or Tatar beauty," whose death reportedly caused him to die of grief. This narrative, however, conflicts with documented family chronicles and lacks corroboration from Mendeleev's autobiography or the memoirs of his daughter or wife. Nevertheless, some Western scholars continue to cite Mendeleev's purported "Mongol," "Tatar," "Tartarian," or "Asian" ancestry as factual.

Mendeleev received an upbringing as an Orthodox Christian, with his mother advocating for him to "patiently search divine and scientific truth." His son, Ivan, subsequently reported that Mendeleev had distanced himself from the Church, adopting a form of "romanticized deism."

Mendeleev was the youngest of 17 siblings; his brother Pavel stated that "only 14 stayed alive to be baptized," implying the others died shortly after birth. The precise count of Mendeleev's siblings remains a subject of historical debate, with varying numbers reported across different sources. A significant setback for the family's financial stability occurred when his father became blind and consequently lost his teaching position. This necessitated his mother's return to work, leading her to revive the family's disused glass factory. At the age of 13, following his father's death and the destruction of his mother's factory by fire, Mendeleev enrolled in the Gymnasium in Tobolsk.

In 1849, Mendeleev's mother accompanied him on a journey across Russia, from Siberia to Moscow, with the intention of securing his enrollment at Moscow University. However, his application to the university was unsuccessful. Subsequently, mother and son proceeded to Saint Petersburg, seeking admission to his father's alma mater. The now financially constrained Mendeleev family relocated to Saint Petersburg, where he commenced studies at the Main Pedagogical Institute in 1850. Upon graduation, he contracted tuberculosis, necessitating his relocation to the Crimean Peninsula, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, in 1855. During his time there, he served as a science master at the 1st Simferopol Gymnasium. By 1857, his health fully recovered, he returned to Saint Petersburg.

From 1859 to 1861, Mendeleev conducted research in Heidelberg on the capillarity of liquids and the operational principles of the spectroscope. Subsequently, in 1861, he authored and published a textbook titled Organic Chemistry, which earned him the prestigious Demidov Prize from the Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

On 4 April 1862, Mendeleev became engaged to Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva, and their marriage took place on 27 April 1862 at the church of the Nikolaev Engineering Institute in Saint Petersburg, where he was employed as an instructor.

Mendeleev was appointed professor at the Saint Petersburg Technological Institute in 1864 and at Saint Petersburg State University in 1865. In 1865, he earned his Doctor of Science degree with a dissertation titled "On the Combinations of Water with Alcohol." In 1867, he secured tenure at St. Petersburg University, where he commenced teaching inorganic chemistry, succeeding Voskresenskii in the position. By 1871, his efforts had elevated Saint Petersburg to an internationally recognized hub for chemical research.

Periodic Table

By 1863, 56 elements were known, with new discoveries occurring at an approximate annual rate. Prior to Mendeleev, other scientists had also recognized the periodic nature of elements. John Newlands, for instance, articulated a Law of Octaves in 1864, observing elemental periodicity based on relative atomic weight, and published this work in 1865. Newlands's proposition even suggested the existence of undiscovered elements, such as germanium. However, his concept faced criticism and was not formally acknowledged by the Society of Chemists until 1887. Concurrently, Lothar Meyer also proposed a periodic arrangement, publishing a paper in 1864 that categorized 28 elements by their valence, though without predicting novel elements.

Following his appointment as a teacher in 1867, Mendeleev authored Principles of Chemistry (Russian: Основы химии, romanized: Osnovy khimii), a work that quickly became the era's authoritative textbook. Published in two volumes between 1868 and 1870, the textbook was developed by Mendeleev while he was preparing course materials. During this period, he made his most significant scientific breakthrough. While endeavoring to classify elements based on their chemical properties, he observed recurring patterns that prompted him to formulate his periodic table. Mendeleev famously asserted that he had envisioned the entire arrangement of elements in a dream:

I saw in a dream a table where all elements fell into place as required. Awakening, I immediately wrote it down on a piece of paper, only in one place did a correction later seem necessary.

Despite being unaware of the contemporaneous work on periodic tables during the 1860s, Mendeleev constructed the following arrangement:

Extending this pattern, Mendeleev subsequently developed a more comprehensive version of his periodic table. On March 6, 1869, he delivered a formal presentation to the Russian Chemical Society, entitled The Dependence between the Properties of the Atomic Weights of the Elements. This address categorized elements based on both their atomic weight (presently termed relative atomic mass) and their valence. Key assertions from this presentation included:

1. Elements, when ordered by their atomic weight, display a clear periodicity in their properties.
2. Elements possessing analogous chemical properties either share similar atomic weights (e.g., Pt, Ir, Os) or exhibit regularly increasing atomic weights (e.g., K, Rb, Cs).
3. The grouping of elements by increasing atomic weight correlates with their valencies and, to a certain degree, with their characteristic chemical properties, as exemplified by the series Li, Be, B, C, N, O, and F.
4. Elements with the lowest atomic weights are the most widely distributed.
5. An element's atomic weight dictates its fundamental character, mirroring how a molecule's magnitude defines a compound body's nature.
6. The discovery of numerous unknown elements is anticipated, including, for instance, two elements analogous to aluminum and silicon, with predicted atomic weights between 65 and 75.
7. The atomic weight of an element might occasionally require adjustment based on the properties of its adjacent elements. For example, tellurium's atomic weight should fall between 123 and 126, rather than being 128. (Mendeleev's assumption that atomic weight must consistently increase with position within a period was later proven incorrect, as tellurium's actual atomic weight is 127.6.)
8. Specific characteristic properties of elements are predictable from their atomic weights.

Mendeleev published his periodic table, encompassing all known elements and predicting several new ones to fill gaps, in a Russian-language journal. Remarkably, only a few months later, Meyer published a nearly identical table in a German-language journal. However, Mendeleev holds the unique distinction of accurately forecasting the properties of elements he termed ekasilicon, ekaaluminium, and ekaboron (later identified as germanium, gallium, and scandium, respectively).

Mendeleev additionally posited modifications to the characteristics of certain established elements. Before his contributions, uranium was presumed to possess a valence of 3 and an approximate atomic weight of 120. Mendeleev recognized that these figures were inconsistent with his periodic table, subsequently revising both to a valence of 6 and an atomic weight of 240, which closely approximates the contemporary value of 238.

For the three elements he forecasted, Mendeleev employed the Sanskrit prefixes *eka*, *dvi*, and *tri* (meaning one, two, and three, respectively) in their nomenclature. He challenged several prevailing atomic weights, which were then measurable only with limited precision, asserting their divergence from the values implied by his Periodic Law. Mendeleev observed that tellurium exhibited a greater atomic weight than iodine; however, he arranged them in the correct sequence, erroneously postulating that the accepted atomic weights of the era were inaccurate. He encountered difficulty in positioning the known lanthanides and hypothesized an additional row for the table, comprising the actinides, which represented some of the heaviest elements by atomic weight. Although some contemporaries disregarded Mendeleev's predictions of further elements, his foresight was validated by the discovery of gallium (Ga) in 1875 and germanium (Ge) in 1886, both of which precisely occupied the two vacant positions.

The application of Sanskrit prefixes for naming "missing" elements by Mendeleev may signify his acknowledgment of the ancient Indian Sanskrit grammarians. These scholars had developed linguistic theories founded on their identification of two-dimensional patterns in speech sounds, as exemplified by the Śivasūtras within Pāṇini's Sanskrit grammar. Mendeleev maintained a friendship and professional relationship with the Sanskritist Otto von Böhtlingk, who was then compiling the second edition of his work on Pāṇini, suggesting Mendeleev's intention to commemorate Pāṇini through his chosen nomenclature.

Mendeleev's initial draft was subsequently discovered years later and published under the title Tentative System of Elements.

Dmitri Mendeleev is frequently recognized as the progenitor of the Periodic Table. He designated his tabular arrangement, or matrix, as "the Periodic System."

Subsequent Life

In 1876, Mendeleev encountered Anna Ivanovna Popova and initiated a courtship. By 1881, he proposed marriage, reportedly threatening suicide if she declined. His divorce from Leshcheva was finalized in early 1882, merely one month after his marriage to Popova on April 2nd. Despite the divorce, Mendeleev was technically a bigamist, as the Russian Orthodox Church mandated a minimum seven-year period before legal remarriage. This marital controversy, alongside his divorce, played a role in his exclusion from the Russian Academy of Sciences, notwithstanding his considerable international renown at the time. His daughter from his second marriage, Lyubov, later married the distinguished Russian poet Alexander Blok. His other children included Vladimir, a son and sailor who participated in Nicholas II's notable Eastern journey, and Olga, a daughter from his first marriage to Feozva, as well as a son Ivan and twins from Anna.

Although Mendeleev received extensive accolades from scientific institutions across Europe, including the Davy Medal from the Royal Society of London in 1882 (which subsequently bestowed upon him the Copley Medal in 1905), he resigned from Saint Petersburg University on August 17, 1890. In 1892, he was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS), and in 1893, he assumed the directorship of the Bureau of Weights and Measures, a position he held until his demise.

Mendeleev additionally conducted research into the composition of petroleum and contributed to the establishment of Russia's inaugural oil refinery. He acknowledged petroleum's critical role as a feedstock for petrochemical production. A notable observation attributed to him posits that utilizing petroleum as a mere fuel "would be analogous to igniting a kitchen stove with banknotes."

Mendeleev received nine nominations for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry during the final three years of his life, specifically in 1905, 1906, and 1907. In 1905, he was inducted into the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and garnered three nominations. The subsequent year, he accumulated four nominations, and the Nobel Committee for Chemistry formally recommended to the Swedish Academy that Mendeleev be awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his groundbreaking discovery of the periodic system. Concurrently, he was also elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society. The Chemistry Section of the Swedish Academy endorsed this recommendation. Typically, the academy would ratify the committee's selection, a practice observed in nearly all instances. However, during the full academy meeting, Peter Klason, a dissenting member of the Nobel Committee, unexpectedly proposed Henri Moissan, his preferred candidate. Svante Arrhenius, despite not being a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, wielded significant influence within the academy and advocated for Mendeleev's rejection. Arrhenius contended that the periodic system's discovery was too historical to warrant recognition in 1906. Contemporary accounts suggest Arrhenius's motivation stemmed from a personal animosity towards Mendeleev, who had criticized Arrhenius's dissociation theory. Following intense debate, the academy's majority ultimately selected Moissan by a single vote. Mendeleev's two nominations in 1907 were similarly thwarted by Arrhenius's unwavering opposition.

In 1907, Mendeleev passed away in Saint Petersburg at the age of 72, succumbing to influenza. His final utterance to his physician was: "Doctor, you have science, I have faith," a statement potentially attributable to Jules Verne.

Additional Scientific Contributions

Beyond his work on the periodic system, Mendeleev significantly advanced various scientific disciplines. Lev Chugaev, a prominent Russian chemist and science historian, offered the following characterization of Mendeleev:

a brilliant chemist, a preeminent physicist, and a prolific investigator across diverse fields including hydrodynamics, meteorology, geology, specific areas of chemical technology (such as explosives, petroleum, and fuels), and other disciplines closely related to chemistry and physics. He was also recognized as a comprehensive authority on the chemical industry and industry at large, as well as an innovative economic theorist [...]

In 1868, Mendeleev co-founded the Russian Chemical Society. His research also extended to the theoretical and practical aspects of protectionist trade policies and agricultural science.

Pursuing a chemical interpretation of the aether, Mendeleev hypothesized the existence of two inert chemical elements with atomic weights lower than hydrogen. He posited that the lighter of these hypothetical elements was an omnipresent, pervasive gas, while the slightly heavier one was a proposed element he termed coronium.

Mendeleev dedicated extensive research and made significant contributions to elucidating the fundamental nature of indeterminate compounds, particularly solutions.

Within the realm of physical chemistry, Mendeleev conducted investigations into the thermal expansion of liquids, formulating an equation analogous to Gay-Lussac's law concerning the uniform expansion of gases. Furthermore, in 1861, he foreshadowed Thomas Andrews' concept of the critical temperature of gases by defining a substance's absolute boiling point as the temperature at which both cohesion and the heat of vaporization diminish to zero, causing the liquid to convert into vapor, independent of pressure and volume.

Mendeleev is credited with the initiative to introduce the metric system within the Russian Empire.

Mendeleev developed pyrocollodion, a nitrocellulose-based smokeless powder. Although this invention was commissioned by the Russian Navy, it was ultimately not adopted for their use. In 1892, Mendeleev oversaw its production.

Mendeleev investigated the genesis of petroleum, concluding that hydrocarbons are abiogenic and originate deep within the Earth. He asserted: "The fundamental fact to observe is that petroleum originated in the Earth's depths, and its source must be sought exclusively there."

Non-Chemical Endeavors

From the 1870s onward, his publications extended significantly beyond the field of chemistry, encompassing analyses of Russian industrial sectors and technical challenges in agricultural productivity. His research also delved into demographic concerns, supported investigations of the Arctic Sea, sought to quantify the effectiveness of chemical fertilizers, and advocated for the development of the merchant navy. He demonstrated particular dedication to enhancing the Russian petroleum industry, conducting thorough comparative analyses with the more advanced industry in Pennsylvania. Despite lacking a formal background in economics, his extensive observations of industrial practices during his European travels informed his perspective, leading him in 1891 to assist in persuading the Ministry of Finance to implement temporary tariffs designed to nurture nascent Russian industries.

In 1889, he received election as an honorary member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. The subsequent year, 1890, he relinquished his professorship at St. Petersburg University due to a disagreement with Ministry of Education officials regarding the treatment of university students. By 1892, he had been appointed director of Russia's Central Bureau of Weights and Measures, where he spearheaded efforts to standardize fundamental prototypes and measurement protocols. He established a comprehensive inspection system and was instrumental in introducing the metric system to Russia.

He actively challenged the scientific assertions of spiritualism, contending that metaphysical idealism constituted nothing more than uninformed superstition. He expressed considerable concern over the pervasive acceptance of spiritualism within Russian culture and its detrimental impact on scientific inquiry.

The Vodka Standard Myth

A widely circulated Russian narrative attributes to Mendeleev the establishment of the 40% standard strength for vodka. For instance, Russian Standard vodka's marketing claims: "In 1894, Dmitri Mendeleev, the greatest scientist in all Russia, received the decree to set the Imperial quality standard for Russian vodka and the 'Russian Standard' was born." Other sources similarly refer to "the highest quality of Russian vodka approved by the royal government commission headed by Mendeleev in 1894."

In reality, the 40% standard had been implemented by the Russian government in 1843, a period when Mendeleev was merely nine years old. While it is accurate that Mendeleev assumed leadership of the Archive of Weights and Measures in Saint Petersburg in 1892, subsequently transforming it into a governmental bureau the following year, this institution's mandate was to standardize Russian trade weights and measuring instruments, not to establish production quality standards. Furthermore, Mendeleev's 1865 doctoral dissertation, titled "A Discourse on the combination of alcohol and water," exclusively examined medical-grade alcohol concentrations exceeding 70% and contained no discussion pertaining to vodka.

Commemoration

Numerous locations and artifacts are associated with the scientist's name and accomplishments.

In Saint Petersburg, the D. I. Mendeleev Institute for Metrology, which functions as the National Metrology Institute, was named in his honor; this institution is responsible for establishing and maintaining national and global standards for precise measurements. Adjacent to the institute stands a monument dedicated to him, featuring a seated statue and an engraving of his periodic table on the building's facade.

Within the Twelve Collegia building, which currently serves as the central hub of Saint Petersburg State University and was the Head Pedagogical Institute during Mendeleev's era, the Dmitry Mendeleev Memorial Museum Apartment houses his archives. The thoroughfare situated in front of these buildings bears his name, known as Mendeleevskaya liniya (Mendeleev Line).

In Moscow, the D. Mendeleyev University of Chemical Technology of Russia is named in his honor.

Mendelevium, a synthetic chemical element designated by the symbol Md (formerly Mv) and possessing an atomic number of 101, was named in honor of Mendeleev. This element is a metallic, radioactive transuranic member of the actinide series, typically synthesized through the bombardment of einsteinium with alpha particles.

The mineral mendeleevite-Ce, with the chemical formula Cs
₆(Ce
₂₂Ca
§24_25§)(Si
₇₀O
₁₇₅)(OH,F)
§51
52§(H
§6061§O)
§69^70§, was formally named in honor of Mendeleev in 2010. Subsequently, the related species mendeleevite-Nd, represented by the formula Cs
§80_81§[(Nd,REE)
§89
90§Ca
§9899§](Si
§107108§O
₁₇₅)(OH,F)
§125126§(H
§134135§O)
§143144§, was characterized and described in 2015.

The prominent lunar impact crater Mendeleev, situated on the Moon's far side, is also named in recognition of the scientist.

Since 1965, the Russian Academy of Sciences has periodically conferred the Mendeleev Golden Medal.

Mendeleev's 182nd birthday was commemorated on February 8, 2016, through a dedicated Google Doodle.

Works

• Mendeleev, D. I.. (DjVu). *Periodic Law*. Vol. 1 of *Collected Works in 3 Volumes*. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, via Runivers.
• Mendeleev, D. I.. (DjVu). *Solutions*. Vol. 2 of *Collected Works in 3 Volumes*. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, via Runivers.
• Mendeleev, D. I.. (DjVu). *Periodic Law: Supplementary Materials*. Vol. 3 of *Collected Works in 3 Volumes*. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, via Runivers.
• Mendeleev, D. I.. *Further Remarks on the Expansion of Liquids (A Reply to Professor Avenarius)*. St. Petersburg: V. Demakov Printing House, 1884. 18 pp.
• Mendeleev, D. I.. *On Experiments Concerning the Elasticity of Gases*. Communication to the Imperial Russian Technical Society, January 21, 1881. St. Petersburg, 1881. 22 pp.
• Mendeleev, D.. (1994) [1906]. Savinkin, A. E. (ed.). *Towards an Understanding of Russia* (PDF). *Russian Military Collection* (in Russian). Vol. 7. Moscow: GA VS. pp. 174–231.
  • List of Russian chemists
  • Periodic systems of small molecules

  Notes

  References

  Citations

  Works Cited

  • Gordin, Michael D.. (2019). *A Well-Ordered Thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the Shadow of the Periodic Table* (Revised ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 384. ISBN 9780691172385.Heilbron, John L.. (2003). *The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science*. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-974376-6.Mendeleev, Dmitry Ivanovich, and Jensen, William B. (2005). *Mendeleev on the Periodic Law: Selected Writings, 1869–1905*. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0486445717.
    • Mendeleev, Dmitry Ivanovich; Jensen, William B. (2005). Mendeleev on the Periodic Law: Selected Writings, 1869–1905. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0486445717.Strathern, Paul. (2001). *Mendeleyev's Dream: The Quest For the Elements*. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0241140659.Mendeleev, Dmitrii Ivanovich. (1901). *Principles of Chemistry*. New York: Collier.
      • Works by Dmitri Mendeleev at Project Gutenberg
      • Babaev, Eugene V., Moscow State University. Dmitriy Mendeleev Online
      • "Everything in its Place", essay by Oliver Sacks