Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs (2 December 1836 – 14 February 1923) was a chemist and natural philosopher most widely known for his findings on periodic laws within the chemical elements.

[1] Hinrichs was born in 1836 in Lunden in the Duchy of Holstein, which at that time was under the rule of Denmark although it was simultaneously part of the German Confederation.

During his schooling he published several articles and books,[1][2] including descriptions of the magnetic field of Earth and its interaction with the aether.

[3] In 1863 he was appointed a professor of natural philosophy, chemistry, and modern languages at the University of Iowa.

[1] Although his contribution is not generally considered as important as those of Dmitri Mendeleev or Lothar Meyer, in 1867 (two years before Mendeleev) he presented his ideas on periodicity among the chemical elements in his privately printed book Programme der Atommechanik,[8] and in slightly revised form in 1869.