So, who was Dimitri Mendeleev?
The youngest, of at least, fourteen children, Dimitri Ivanovitch Mendeleev was born at Tobolsk, Siberia, on 7th February, 1834. His father, Ivan, was the director of the local gymnasium, and his mother, Marya, (born Marya Korniliev) came from a family that had introduced glass and paper making to Siberia. Ivan died when Dimitri was quite young and Marya had to return to work in order to support her family. Through family connections, she managed the Korniliev glass factory at Aremziansk. Dimitri was educated at the gymnasium in Tobolsk, where he showed great interest in mathematics and physics. He also learned a lot about glass and glass blowing from the family factory. His brother-in-law, Bessargin, was also an influence in that he taught the young Mendeleev current science topics. By the age of fourteen, Dimitri showed great scientific promise and his mother was determined that he should receive a good education. Her plans were thwarted when the glass factory was destroyed by fire. T
