Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev was and is one of the most prominent chemists of all time. Mendeleyev was born in Tobolsk, Siberia on February 7, 1834. He was the 14th and last child of Maria Dmitrievna Korniliev and Ivan Pavlovitch Mendeleev. His father was a teacher at a local gymnasium, but died while Dmitri was very young, leaving his wife to support the large family. Mendeleyev's mother then took a job managing a family-owned glass company in Aremziansk.
<Tab/>Mendeleyev learned some basic science from his brother-in-law Bessargin, who had been exiled to Siberia because…
