Final answer:
Dimitri Mendeleev is the chemist credited with the development of the modern Periodic Table of Elements, predicting elements that had not yet been discovered, which solidified his recognition in the scientific community.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dimitri Mendeleev is credited with developing the modern day Periodic Table of Elements. In 1869, this great Russian chemist published a significant scientific work, outlining his version of the periodic table. Mendeleev's insights didn't stop at arranging the elements by increasing atomic mass; his table also correctly predicted the existence and properties of elements that had not yet been discovered, such as gallium and germanium, which were later found and confirmed to have properties Mendeleev had foreseen.
While the German chemist Lothar Meyer independently published a very similar periodic table a year later, Mendeleev is generally given more credit due to his table being published first and the predictive nature of his work. Mendeleev's periodic table, which left intentional gaps for then-undiscovered elements, was a testament to his belief in the systematic nature of the elemental properties. It was this foresight and systematic approach that led to his periodic table gaining wide acceptance in the scientific community.
Mendeleev's contributions such as these solidified his place in history as the primary developer of the periodic table, earning him this recognition even posthumously, with element 101, mendelevium, named in his honor.