The document discusses the history and development of the periodic table. It describes early classification systems by Dobereiner, Newlands, and Meyer that recognized patterns in element properties but had limitations. Mendeleev created the first successful periodic table in 1869 by arranging elements by atomic mass and leaving gaps for undiscovered elements. Moseley established in 1913 that atomic number, not mass, is fundamental; the modern periodic table is based on atomic number.