Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the scientist responsible for the "Law of Octaves," an early attempt at classifying elements.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
\[\begin{array}{rl} \bullet & \text{John Newlands (1866): He arranged the known elements in order of increasing atomic mass. He observed that the properties of every eighth element were similar to those of the first one, much like the eighth note in a musical octave. This was called Newlands' Law of Octaves. } \\ \bullet & \text{Johann Dobereiner (1817): He grouped elements into "triads," where the atomic mass of the middle element was the average of the other two. } \\ \bullet & \text{Lothar Meyer (1869): He plotted physical properties like atomic volume against atomic mass and found periodic patterns. } \\ \bullet & \text{Dmitri Mendeleev (1869): He created the first widely recognized periodic table, arranging elements by atomic mass and leaving gaps for undiscovered elements. } \\ \end{array}\]
Step 3: Final Answer:
The Law of Octaves was propounded by John Newlands.