Complex sentence: Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs (2 December 1836--14 February 1923) was a chemist who published his findings on periodic laws within the chemical elements well before Dmitri Mendeleev or Lothar Meyer.
Split into simpler sentences: Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs (2 December 1836--14 February 1923) was a chemist. He is known to have puplished his findings on periodic laws within the chemical elements well before Mendeleev or Lothar Meyer.