Evolution of Chemistry to the Periodic Table of the Elements

One of the differences between scientists of the 17th and 18th centuries vs. scientists today is that the chemists of times past were often theologians. They studied chemistry and other forms of science because they were incredibly devout and sought to understand how the world worked; they desired to better understand the hand of the creator (Ihde, 1990).

Notable 17th Century Chemists

Jean Beguin

Jean Beguin was a paracelsan iatrochemist who was able to further the techniques necessary which developed into the modern science of chemistry (Weisstein, 2007). In that sense, Beguin was in many ways one of the fathers of modern chemistry and was responsible for chemistry being seen as a separate science and the way that it is viewed today. "In the preparations of medicines, the iatrochemists experimented extensively in their quest to prepare substances in the simplest...
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