Periodic table (detailed cells)
Although precursors to this table exist, its invention is generally credited to Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. Mendeleev invented the table to illustrate recurring ("periodic") trends in the properties of the elements. The layout of the table has been refined and extended over time, as new elements have been discovered, and new theoretical models have been developed to explain chemical behavior.
Hydrography
Under Captain Thomas Hurd the department received its first professional guidelines, and the first catalogues were published and made available to the public and to other nations as well. In 1829, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, as Hydrographer, developed the eponymous Scale, and introduced the first official tide tables in 1833 and the first "Notices to Mariners" in 1834. The Hydrographic Office underwent steady expansion throughout the 19th century; by 1855, the Chart Catalogue listed 1,981 charts giving a definitive coverage over the entire world, and produced over 130,000 charts annually, of which about half were sold.