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400 BCE
Democritus
He was the first person to coin the term "atom," which was derived from the Greek word atomos, which means indivisible. He believed that if matter was continuously divided, it would reach a point where the matter could not be separated anymore. -
Jean Beguin
He published the early textbook Tyrocinium Chymicum. This textbook contains the first ever chemical equation. This is a published set of chemistry notes from a lecture that was published by Beguin. This book was also used for preparations for pharmaceutical methods. -
Robert Boyle
Boyle writes in the Skeptic Chymist what the difference between chemistry and alchemy as well as the difference between mixtures and compounds and defines chemistry as “the science of the composition of substances, not merely an adjunct to the arts of the alchemist or the physician.” -
Jöns Jacob Berzelius
Published a book known as Lärbok i Kemien, where he created the system of notation we use today, with the difference of a superscript instead of a subscript. Created two letter abbreviation to distinguish from original Latin name. 1828 He compiled a relative table of atomic weights with all elements known at the time. -
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
While writing the Principles of Chemistry which was completed in 1871, Mendeleev arranged the elements with similar properties. He noticed that the similar elements had similar patterns in atomic weights and qualities. Mendeleev ordered the elements in ascending atomic weight while grouping the similar ones together. The periodic table was now formed.