Mendeleev, Dmitri

Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian in full Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev, (born January 27 (February 8, New Style), 1834, Tobolsk, Siberia, Russian Empire—died January 20 (February 2), 1907, St. Petersburg, Russia), Russian chemist who developed the periodic classification of the elements. Mendeleev found that, when all the known chemical elements were arranged in order of increasing atomic weight, the resulting table displayed a recurring pattern, or periodicity, of properties within groups of elements. In his version of the periodic table of 1871, he left gaps in places where he believed unknown elements would find their place. He even predicted the likely properties of three of the potential elements. The subsequent proof of many of his predictions within his lifetime brought fame to Mendeleev as the founder of the periodic law.