The history of the periodic table reflects over a century of growth in the understanding of chemical properties. The most important event in its history occurred in 1869, when the table was published by Dmitri Mendeleev, who built upon earlier discoveries by scientists such as Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisierand John Newlands, but who is nevertheless generally given sole credit for its development.

The history of the periodic table is also a history of the discovery of the chemical elements. The first person in history to discover a new element was Hennig Brand, a bankrupt German merchant. Brand tried to discover the Philosopher's Stone a mythical object that was supposed to turn inexpensive base metals into gold.

Antoine wrote what was to be the first modern textbook about chemistry. It contained a list of "simple substances" that Lavoisier believed could not be broken down further, which included oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, mercury, zinc and sulfur, which formed the basis for the modern list of elements. Lavoisier's list also included 'light' and 'caloric', which at the time were believed to be material substances. While many leading chemists refused to believe Lavoisier's new revelations, theElementary Treatise was written well enough to convince the younger generation. However, Lavoisier's descriptions of his elements lack completeness, as he only classified them as metals and non-metals.