D. I. Mendeleev and the English Chemists Yu. I. Solov'ev Institute of the History of Science and Technology, Staropanskii Per. 115, 103012 Moscow K 12, U.S.S.R. The history of science presents many examples in which a shift in scholarly leadership in one country results in a significant change in the way science developed. This process is common and can occur as a result of deep economic, political, or personal factors, as scientists in one country undertake and further develop the new discoveriesand theoretical deductions made in another country. T o illustrate this general proposition consider the scientific cooperation between D. I. Mendeleev and English chemists, which involved a harmony of outlook on the basic question of the structure of substances. Mendeleev clearly recognized that the cooperation of scholars of different countries was required in order to understand and explain the periodic law and the theory of solutions. Knowledge In England of Mendeleev's Work There was great interest in England in the work of Mendeleev even in the later decades of the 19th century. In 1877 Roscoe and Schorlemmer published a "Textbook of Chemistry3'in which the main content of the periodic law appeared. Also in 1877 the Quarterly Journal of Science (No. 55, July) printed extracts from the Mendeleev's paper "The Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements'' which had been printed in 1871in Liebigs Annalen. This acquainted English scientists with the discovery of the periodic law and the prediction of undiscovered elements based on it. In 1879the English journal Chemical News published Mendeleev's 1871 paper on the periodic law. Thus, English chemists became aware of the fundamental work of Mendeleev on the periodic law. In 1893 the president of the London Chemical Society, H. E. Armstrong, in the name of "The illustrious assembly of students of Great Britain" sent the following greeting to the Russian Chemical Society ( I ) : In spite of the great difficultyof the Russian language, the English ea-worken follow the work of your Society and place periodic surveys of it in their journal. Thus, as it were, we grow personally aware of investigationsof the greatest interest and importance and can only feel the need for a closer relation with our Russian colleagues. In 1888 the British Chemical Society invited Mendeleev to present the Faraday Lecture in London. On June 4,1889, in his Faraday Lecture "The Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements," Mendeleev noted (Z), "A high honor bestowed on me by the British Chemical Society, which has invited me to pay tribute to the world-famousname of Faraday by reading a scientific paper, makes me choase the periodic law as a chemical generalization whieh has lately commanded universal attention.
The two-volume English translation of the fifth Russian edition of the "Principles of Chemistry" appeared in 1891. On this occasion Mendeleev wrote, "This translation brought me much joy.. . . My hook is now in use in Oxford and Cambridge." After the publication of the hook in England, a review in the journal Science and Art said (3), "We have not read another such work on chemistry which would give such a clear presentationofthe inner structureof matter. We wish to express our thanks .. . to the eminent scholar who has probably done more than any other man of his generation to extend the bounds of philosophy in this field of physical investigation."
In 1897 a new English translation of the "Princioles of Chemistry" (from k e sixth Russian edition) appeared. Mendeleev noted (4), "This translation is the more important for me since it shows that the first edition, which,they say, had only 5,000 copies, is sold out completely." The famous English chemist, Thomas Thorpe, wrote ( 5 ) , Mendeleev's 'Principles' may he said to stand in the same relation to chemistry in the latter half of the 19th century that Dalton's 'New Svstem' did to cbemistrv of the earlier half. . . . Thanks to ~, hi3 wide and universal puwer to embracr mentally all chemical procertr*, Mende1et.v stdnds i n the ranks of philosophers of chemistry. The amazing accuracy of hlendcleev's predictions and the obvious confidence with which they were made stunned the whole scientific world and guaranteed for them and their inferences esteem and recognition, the like ofwhich it was difficultto expect in another case. This "eeneralization is now woven into the fabric of modern chemistry and is everywhere taken as the only rational basis for classification. ~
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The President nf the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Societv wrote to Mendeletv in 1903 (61."Your work has inspired new life in chemistry. There is nofield of physical science which has not been strengthened by yours ideas." The Influence of the English Chemists on Mendeleev . Mendeleev felt strongly that it was proper that in the Enrland of Dalton he would find nor onlv admirers but also men who would extend his ideas. In the persons of H. Roscoe, E. Frankland, T. Thorpe, H. Armstrong, T. Carnelley, and W. Ramsay, Mendeleev found not only admiration and sympathy, but also friends close to him in spirit. The words spoken in the Faraday Lecture referred directly to English chemists. Turning to these scientists with an appeal to seek further explanations of the periodic law, Mendeleev said (7), As one of the recent generalizations whieh has as yet withstood a laboratory test, as an instrument of thought which until now has not been submitted toany modification, the periodic law not only awaits new additions, but also developments from detailed study and from fresh energy. All this will certainly take place. Studies to establish the exact atomic weights of elements were of ereat value for the develo~mentand confirmation of the ideaof periodicity, which is why Mendeleev highly valued the work of Roscoe on vanadium and uranium. In 1871 he wrote (81, "The excellent work of Roscoe on vanadium has shown the quantitative, and in many cases the qualitative resemblance of this element to phosphorus (for example, in the oxychlorides)." The similarity of vanadium to phosphorus and chromium observed by Roscoe was an important argument for demonstrating periodicity. Mendeleev often referred in his works to the i n ~ & ~ a t i o n sof ~ o s c o on e determination of the correct atomic weight of uranium. Mendeleev also attributed great value to the studies of Thorpe on determination of the atomic weights of titanium and gold. In 1885 Thorpe experimentally determined the atomic weight of titanium, 48.1, which had been predicted hy Mendeleev. In the Faraday Lecture Mendeleev said (91, "For titanium the extensive studies of Professor Thorpe justified the atomic weight of Ti = 48 expected from the periodic law." In 1879 the English physical chemist Carnelley showed that the melting temperature and magnetic properties of elements also showed periodic dependence on atomic weights. In the Volume 61
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fourth edition of "Principles of Chemistry" .Mendeleev wrote (lo), "Carnelley in Manchester showed the agreement with my system of magnetic and diamagnetic pngperties of simple bodies. This had not been noced at all in the established svstem and a t first seemed not to be connected with the chem&l qualities of the elements found in the hasic system. . . .Carnelley showed that simple hodies of the even series.. . were related to the magnetic number,. . .simple bodies of the odd series were diamagnetic." In the fifth edition of "Principles of Chemistry" Mendeleev explained the work of Carnelley which showed that the "melting temperature of simple bodies changed periodically, a s these results clearlv show corresnondence to the ereatest and least values (maxima and miiima)." In a lette' dated October 26.1882. Carnellev informed Mendeleev of the continuance i d extension ofhis investigations devoted to the periodic law. He wrote ( l l ) , I have gathered some results, soon to he published, which I have ohtained in a series which further confirm the periodic law.. .. The title of my paper is 'The Periodic Law from the Viewpoint of Organic Chemistry.' As soon as it is ready I will consider it an honor to send you a copy. In 1881 one of the meetines of the British Chemical Societv was devoted to a report hy grauner, "The Studies of ~ e n d e - leev on Chemistry." He mentioned the "Periodic Law" of Mendeleev and its active defense in England by Carnelley, who orovided several illustrations of the law in its inductive and deductive aspects (12). In 1884 Carnelley considered the connection of some phssical orooerties of inoreanic compounds with the law peridi&;(l3), and he p"hlished an interesting..oaoer, . . "The Periodic Law and the Spread of Elements in Nature" (14). T h e Archives of the Chemical Society in London contain documentli hy Mendeleev praising the scientific investigations of Carnelley, which contrihuted so much to the confirmation of the periodic law (15). Early in 1890, in a letter to Henry Roscoe, Mendeleev wrote:
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Though you are fully aware of thegreat scientificmeritsofProfe840r Camelley,I, for my part, deem it necesmytotell you that Professor Carnelley's name enjoys great and deserved popularity in all auarters that are interested in the successful develooment of the theore~icsla%pQ
