Dmitri Mendeleev IQ
Chemist · 1834–1907
Quick Answer
Dmitri Mendeleev's IQ is estimated at 140 to 160. No documented score or study exists; the estimate rests on the periodic table and its predictions.
Mendeleev has no documented IQ estimate. Predicting missing elements from a pattern is strong evidence of reasoning; 150+ is an editorial marker.
- Estimated IQ
- 150+
- Range
- 140–160
- Known for
- The periodic table
- Basis
- No documented estimate; editorial comparison from output
Evidence status: Very low confidence. No IQ test was ever given, and no Cox 1926 estimate appears in the tabulations we checked. Historical achievement cannot be converted into a precise modern test result. This page separates documented evidence from interpretation.
What was Dmitri Mendeleev's IQ?
Mendeleev never took an IQ test, and no published historiometric estimate is documented for him. LifeScore uses 150+ as an editorial marker, with a range of 140 to 160, based on the periodic table and his accurate predictions of three undiscovered elements.
Did Mendeleev dream the periodic table?
Probably not in the way the story says. The dream account comes from a colleague's later recollection and is poorly sourced. His own accounts describe years of comparing the elements' properties, and the table took shape while he was writing a chemistry textbook.
What did Mendeleev predict?
He predicted three missing elements he called eka-aluminium, eka-boron and eka-silicon, with their atomic weights, densities and chemistry. They were found as gallium in 1875, scandium in 1879 and germanium in 1886. Germanium matched his forecast so closely that doubters were largely won over.
How smart was Dmitri Mendeleev?
The periodic table
In 1869 he arranged the elements so that similar chemistry repeated at regular intervals.
Predicting new elements
He predicted gallium, scandium and germanium, all found within 17 years.
Correcting the data
He changed several accepted atomic weights because they broke the pattern, and he was right.
Applied science
He also worked on oil, agriculture and weights and measures for the Russian state.
How Mendeleev thought
Mendeleev trusted a pattern enough to bet on it. Where elements did not fit, he left gaps and predicted what would fill them, down to density and chemical behaviour. That willingness to make testable predictions is what set his table apart from similar efforts. He also distrusted ideas he could not test, which is why he long resisted the existence of electrons and of radioactive decay.
Evidence behind the Dmitri Mendeleev IQ estimate
The estimate is a structured interpretation of the record, not a recovered test score. These are the strongest signals and the reasons for caution.
Evidence considered
- In 1869 he arranged the known elements by atomic weight and chemical behaviour in a periodic table.
- He left gaps and predicted the properties of undiscovered elements, later found as gallium (1875), scandium (1879) and germanium (1886).
- He corrected several accepted atomic weights because they did not fit the pattern.
What the estimate cannot prove
- Others, including Lothar Meyer, worked on similar tables at the same time.
- Popular stories about the table coming to him in a dream are poorly sourced.
- No psychometric record exists.
Mendeleev vs Lavoisier, Marie Curie, Faraday
How Dmitri Mendeleev's estimate compares with related figures. Every number here is an estimate, and the basis differs from person to person.
| Figure | Estimate | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Dmitri Mendeleev | 150+ | 140–160 |
| Antoine Lavoisier | 150+ | 150–170 |
| Marie Curie | 150 | 140–160 |
| Michael Faraday | 150+ | 150–170 |
Take the Mendeleev IQ test
Dmitri Mendeleev's estimate is 150+. Our Einstein IQ test is a short visual reasoning challenge. See which side of that number you land on.
Take the Mendeleev IQ testDmitri Mendeleev's IQ is represented here by a retrospective estimate of 150+, not a verified test result. Dmitri Mendeleev is best known for exceptional pattern recognition. The useful question is what the surviving evidence shows, not whether a precise modern score can be recovered.
Psychological Profile
Bold pattern-finder with a temper. Trusted his table over the textbook values.
The dominant archetype here is The Scholar. This archetype shapes decision patterns: what feels natural, what creates friction, and what blind spots tend to emerge.
Estimated IQ is 150+. This is a rough estimate based on documented accomplishments and contemporary accounts, not a literal measurement.
Key Behavioral Traits
His mother travelled with him thousands of kilometres from Siberia to get him into university.
He wrote a major chemistry textbook, Principles of Chemistry, while developing the table.
Lothar Meyer developed a similar table around the same time, without the bold predictions.
One thing most people do not know
Element 101, mendelevium, is named after him.
Sources for this estimate
Follow the evidence yourself. These sources document the achievements and context used here; none is presented as a standardized IQ report.
- Dmitri MendeleevEncyclopaedia Britannica
Biography covering the periodic law, his predictions and wider work.
What do these scores mean?
See what an IQ of 140, 150, 160 means in percentiles, then browse every famous estimate in one table.
Think like Mendeleev?
Dmitri Mendeleev's estimate: 150+ (range 140 to 160). See where your own score falls.
Related famous IQs
- Antoine Lavoisier IQ150+
- Marie Curie IQ150
- Michael Faraday IQ150+
- Nikola Tesla IQ160+
- Isaac Newton IQ160+
- Ada Lovelace IQ145
- Albert Einstein IQ160+
- Charles Darwin IQ140+
Same Archetype: The Scholar
Explore psychological profiles of contemporary figures analyzed with similar methods.
Browse All ProfilesSigns of High IQ
Traits often discussed alongside high measured IQ:
Dmitri Mendeleev: People Also Ask
Was Dmitri Mendeleev a genius?+
Dmitri's record supports exceptional achievement, but "genius" is not established by an unverified IQ number. Their The Scholar archetype, combined with Pattern Recognition and Confidence, is a more useful interpretation of their output.
What personality type was Dmitri Mendeleev?+
Dmitri fits the The Scholar archetype. Key traits include Pattern Recognition, Confidence, and Industriousness. This profile helps explain both their strengths and their documented failure modes.
What can we learn from Dmitri Mendeleev?+
Dmitri's profile teaches that extreme strengths create extreme trade-offs. Their Pattern Recognition and Confidence enabled success but also created recurring friction.
References & Sources
Cox, C. M. (1926). The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses. Stanford University Press.
Simonton, D. K. (2009). Genius 101. Springer Publishing Company.
Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: Their Structure, Growth, and Action. Houghton Mifflin.