My Life as Dmitri Mendeleev
My name is Dmitri Mendeleev. I had quite a long and exciting life and I want to share it with you today. I was born on February 7th in Tobolsk, Siberia in 1834. I was the youngest of 14 siblings. After my father went blind and could no longer support the family, my mother started a glass factory to help make ends meet. As I was concluding my high school years my father passed away and my mother’s glass factory burned down. Now that most of my siblings were out on there own, my mother took me to St. Petersburg, Russia. Due to the political climate in Russia, one could not get into the university if they were not from that area. So, My mother worked long and hard and found a way to persuade the University in St. Petersburg to allow me to take the entrance exams. I proved my mother correct; passed the exams and was finally admitted to college. While studying at the university, my mother and sister both died from tuberculosis. My mother was a great inspiration in my life and her dying words have always lain heavy on my heart. My mother believed in scientific truth and taught me to work toward my goals. Three years into my studies, I became ill with the very same thing that had killed my mother and sister, tuberculosis. I managed to complete my studies while on bed rest and graduated in 1855. After graduation, my physicians gave me two years to live and recommended that I move to a warmer climate to extend my longevity. So, I moved to Simferopol near the Black Sea at 21 years old. This move helped me heal and soon the doctors could no longer find any indication of tuberculosis. In 1856, I returned to St. Petersburg, and entered the masters program. My life and career focus was on teaching and research. I was a devoted countryman and professor. During this time I worked on studying Chemical Technology and Russian industries. In 1859-1861, I studied abroad in Paris with Regnault looking at densities of gases. It was during this...