Dmitri Mendeleev is credited with creating the periodic table in 1869, arranging the known elements according to their atomic masses. The periodic table was inspired by earlier work compiling chemical information from various countries. Elements in the same column have the same number of electrons in their outer orbital and exhibit similar chemical properties, while elements in the same period have the same atomic orbital. The document then provides details about three elements - sulfur, xenon, and strontium - and cites five references used.