👨🔬 Who Was He?
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Full Name: Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
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Born: February 8, 1834 – Tobolsk, Russia
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Died: February 2, 1907 – Saint Petersburg, Russia
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Field: Chemistry
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💡 Famous For: Creating the Periodic Table of Elements
📘 Quick Biography
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Mendeleev was the youngest of 17 children in a poor family.
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His mother supported his education and took him to St. Petersburg, walking over 1,000 kilometers.
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He became a professor and chemistry researcher, passionate about order and logic in science.
🔬 His Greatest Achievement: The Periodic Table
| Idea | What It Means | Why It Was Revolutionary |
|---|---|---|
| Periodic Table | He arranged chemical elements by atomic weight and properties | Predicted new elements that had not yet been discovered |
| Left gaps | Mendeleev left spaces for unknown elements | His predictions came true — e.g., gallium, germanium |
| Periodic Law | Properties of elements repeat periodically | This is the foundation of modern chemistry |
🧪 How He Created the Table
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In 1869, Mendeleev organized 63 known elements into a table.
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He noticed that similar elements appeared at regular intervals.
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His genius was in predicting the existence and properties of yet-undiscovered elements.
🏅 Recognition and Legacy
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Though initially doubted, his table was proven accurate over time.
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Today’s Periodic Table is based on his work, though updated with atomic number (not atomic weight).
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Element 101 was named Mendelevium (Md) in his honor.
💡 Fun Facts
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Mendeleev had a long beard and wore a lab coat, becoming a symbol of a classic “mad scientist.”
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He also worked on petroleum, gunpowder, metrology (science of measurement), and education reform in Russia.
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He loved order and even tried to define a system for making vodka (40% ideal strength)!
🧠 Famous Quote
❝There is nothing in this world more beautiful than the truth.❞
— Dmitri Mendeleev
✅ Why Mendeleev Still Matters
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He helped organize the building blocks of matter.
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His method allowed scientists to discover new elements faster.
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The Periodic Table is used in chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, medicine, and space science.