Found in the Archives: Chemistry Classroom Photograph

February 7th is National Periodic Table Day, an unofficial holiday celebrating the publication of the first table of the elements on February 7, 1863.

The Archives and Special Collections has this picture of Whitby Hall room 121, which was used as a chemistry classroom.

The photograph, taken around 1918, shows a poster of the periodic table hanging on the wall to the left. The poster is enlarged below.

The text underneath the poster's title indicates the table is "according to Mendeleev . . . revised and corrected to 1910 by Dr F W Clarke."  The periodical table St. Kate's students learned in the early 19th century, with its 70 elements arranged into 8 groups and 12 series, is much simpler than the 118-element table chemistry students use today.