Final answer:
Linus Pauling is credited with deriving the electronegativity values of the periodic table. He established the original electronegativity scale in the 1930s by setting fluorine at 4.0 and assigning values to other elements accordingly. Pauling's scale is fundamental to understanding the periodic trends in electronegativity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The individual who is credited with deriving the electronegativity values of the periodic table is Linus Pauling. In the 1930s, Pauling developed the original electronegativity scale, which was based on measurements of the strengths of covalent bonds between different elements.
He set the electronegativity of fluorine at 4.0, creating a scale in which all elements have values between 0 and 4.0. These values show periodic trends, with the highest electronegativities located toward the upper right of the periodic table, exemplified by fluorine which has an electronegativity value of 3.98, and the lowest by cesium with a value of 0.79.
Linus Pauling is a Nobel Prize-winning American chemist who made significant contributions to the understanding of the chemical bond. His work has had a profound impact on chemistry, evidenced by his two individual Nobel Prizes.
His method for calculating electronegativity, while limited due to some elements not forming stable covalent compounds, has been expanded upon with other scales like the Mulliken, Allred-Rochow, and Allen electronegativity scales.