The exhibition "Dmitri Mendeleev and St. Petersburg Mining University" was opened at the Mining Museum. It commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Law, which was formulated by the Russian scientist. It is as well dedicated to the establishment of the International Competence Centre for Mining-Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table in connection with the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements. Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev discovered the Law in 1869 upon systematisation of substances known at that time. During the next two years, he was perfecting the formulation. Finally, he proved that "the properties of elements, and therefore the properties of simple and сompound bodies they form, are in periodical dependence upon their atomic weights."
The data on the cooperation of Dmitri Mendeleev with the Mining Institute was retrieved by examining archive and library materials of the Mining Museum, the Department of General Chemistry, the main library of the university, and the Russian Mineralogical Society. Now the records on scientific discoveries - including their stages - of the great scientist are located in the Mining Museum.
Among the exhibits is the first published work of Mendeleev wherein he described pyroxene, a mineral found at the Ruskeala deposit. Next to it are issues of the 'Journal of Mining Institute'. There one may find articles on mineralogy, geology, oil engineering, and isomorphism. One of the most valuable publications on display is 1865's Dmitri Mendeleev's dissertation entitled "Discourse on the combination of alcohol with water presented to the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of St. Petersburg University".
When searching for materials for his scientific research, the scientist repeatedly reached out to the Mining Museum. And when he was working on his Periodic Law, he came there to select mineral samples for the studies. A confirmation receipt stating that the Mining Museum granted 22 minerals to Mendeleev is in the showcase, as well as there is the first publication of Mendeleev's "Principles of Chemistry", issued in 1869.
