• 2005
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No chemistry textbook, classroom, auditorium, or research laboratory is complete without a copy of the periodic table of the elements. Since the earliest days of chemistry, attempts have been made to arrange the known elements in ways that revealed similarities between them. However, it required the genius of Mendeleev in 1869 to see that arranging elements into patterns was not enough; he realized that there was a natural plan in which each element has its allotted place. This applied not only to the known elements, but also left room for elements that were undiscovered at that time. More than 700 versions of the periodic table were produced in the century after Mendeleev. The table shown here was commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom. It was drawn by Murray Robinson based on scientific data provided by Dr. John Emsley. An interactive version is available online; clicking on an element provides chemical data and other relevant information. More information about the history and logical arrangement of the periodic table is available at www.chemsoc.org/viselements.