150 Years of the Periodic Table

This book provides an overview of the origins and evolution of the periodic system from its prehistory to the latest synthetic elements and possible future additions. The periodic system of the elements first emerged as a comprehensive classificatory and predictive tool for chemistry during the 1860s. Its subsequent embodiment in various versions has made it one of the most recognizable icons of science.

Based primarily on a symposium titled “150 Years of the Periodic Table” and held at the August 2019 national meeting of the American Chemical Society, this book describes the origins of the periodic law, developments that led to its acceptance, chemical families that the system struggled to accommodate, extension of the periodic system to include synthetic elements, and various cultural aspects of the system that were celebrated during the International Year of the Periodic Table.

Carmen J. Giunta is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. He received his B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Scranton and an A.M. in physics and Ph.D. in chemical physics from Harvard University. He has been active in the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry since the late 1990s. He is the editor of the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 

Vera V. Mainz is retired from her position as Director of the NMR Laboratory at the School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She received her B.S. degrees in chemistry and mathematics from Kansas Newman University and her Ph.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley working with Prof. Richard A. Andersen. She has been Secretary/Treasurer of the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry since 1995.

Gregory S. Girolami is the William H. and Janet G. Lycan Professor and former Head of the Chemistry Departmentat the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. After receiving his B.S. degrees in chemistry and physics from the University of Texas at Austin and his Ph.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley, he was a NATO postdoctoral fellow with Nobel laureate Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson. His research interests are primarily in the synthesis, properties, and reactivity of new inorganic, organometallic, and solid-state species.