A brilliant mind: the man behind the periodic table.

An unfairly denied Nobel Prize.

A rather Jewish last name.

A bushy beard for the ages.

A Jew?

Nope. Not even close. So how did Dmitry Mendeleev get such a Jewish name? Mendel, after all, is often short for Menachem, which is as Jewy as one can get.

Turns out, the last name was given to Dmitry's father. By the Russian Orthodox church. Yeah, we don't get it either. Apparently, his original last name of Sokolov was deemed... too secular? Too short? Too goyishe? Oh, who knows.

So no, not Jewish. Russian Orthodox. They are big on bushy beards as well, after all.