Born on February 8 , 1834, to Ivan Pavlovich and Maria Dmitrievna Mendeleev, in Tobolsk in Serbia, Dmitri Mendeleev was one of fourteen children in the family. His father was not only extremely poor but also blind which forced his mother to take on the entire burden of the family on her rather frail shoulders. To make ends meet, she began a glass factory which unfortunately was razed to the ground.
THE PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY By D. MENDELÉEFF TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN (SIXTH EDITION) BY GEORGE KAMENSKY, A.R.S.M. OF THE IMPERIAL MINT, ST PETERSBURG: MEMBER OF THE RUSSIAN PHYSICO-CHEMICAL SOCIETY IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME II. 1897