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.
Pier table
The pier table takes its English name from the "pier wall", the space between windows. The table was developed in continental Europe in the 1500s and 1600s, and became popular in England in the last quarter of the 1600s. The pier table became known in North America in the mid-1700s, and was a popular item into the mid to late 1800s. It was common for the space between the rear legs of the pier table to contain a mirror, or "pier glass", to help hide the wall. Later pier tables were designed to stand in any niche in a room, and the pier glass moved above the table.