The year 2019 marks the 150th year of the founding of analytical chemistry department at St. Petersburg State University and of the founding of the periodic table of chemical elements as proposed by Professor Dmitry Mendeleev. 2019 has been decreed by chemists as the “International Year of the Periodic Table” in celebration of these historical events. A celebration marking this anniversary was held at the university on March 1. This historical account will recount the early days of the department and Mendeleev's development of the periodic table, and then highlight some of the major analytical contributions of the department.