Happy Birthday, Mendeleev!

Posted by Kerry Kubilius Feb 8, 2007

This Russian smarty is best known for his work on the Periodic Table of Elements. While other scientist developed and published similar Tables, Mendeleev (or sometimes, Mendeleyev) is givin a hefty amount of credit for his hypotheses about atomic mass and other properties of the Periodic Table.

Famous painting (specifically by Ilya Repin) and drawings depict Mendeleev in classic mad-scientist style: hair in disarray, crinkled clothes, a penentrating gaze. A photo of Mendeleev confirms this image - hunkered down over papers, surrounded by books, Mendeleev is depicted as the stereotypical genius.