List of Eminent Chemists (Categories)

This list of eminent chemists represents a selection of people who have made significant discoveries or developments in the field of chemistry . Many discoverers (for example in the field of dyeing or metallurgy ) remained unknown. This list does not claim to be complete.

This list is sorted alphabetically according to categories , with year of birth and death and selected key words on chemical activity, NP = Nobel Prize

Discovery of the elements

Discoverers alphabetically, see also chemical element .

Johan August Arfwedson , 1792-1841, lithium
Jöns Jacob Berzelius , 1779–1848, zirconium , titanium , silicon , selenium , thorium , cerium
Hennig Brand , around 1630–1710, phosphorus
Georg Brandt , 1694–1768, cobalt
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen , 1811–1899, rubidium , cesium
Henry Cavendish , 1731-1810, hydrogen
Dirk Coster , 1889–1950, Hafnium (together with George de Hevesy )
Axel Frederic Cronstedt , 1722-1765, nickel
Marie Curie , 1867–1934, radium , polonium
Pierre Curie , 1859–1906, radium , polonium
Sir Humphry Davy , 1778-1829, sodium , potassium , calcium , strontium , barium , magnesium
Andreas Gustaf Ekeberg , 1767–1813, tantalum
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac , 1778-1850, Bor
Otto Hahn , 1879–1968, Protactinium
Charles Hatchett , 1765-1871, niobium
George de Hevesy , 1885–1966, hafnium (together with Dirk Coster )
Theophrast von Hohenheim (known as Paracelsus), 1493–1541, zinc
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff , 1824–1887, cesium , rubidium
Martin Heinrich Klaproth , 1743–1817, cerium , uranium and zirconium as zirconium dioxide
Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran , 1838–1912, gallium , samarium , dysprosium
Lise Meitner , 1878-1968, Protactinium
Henri Moissan , 1852-1907, fluorine
Carl Gustav Mosander , 1797–1858, erbium , lanthanum , terbium
Lars Fredrik Nilson , 1840-1899, Scandium
Walter Noddack , 1893-1960, rhenium
Joseph Priestley , 1733-1804, Oxygen
Sir William Ramsay , 1852-1916, helium , neon , krypton , xenon , argon
Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe , 1833-1915, vanadium
Carl Wilhelm Scheele , 1742–1786, oxygen , chlorine , molybdenum , tungsten
Glenn T. Seaborg , 1912-1999, Plutonium , Americium , Curium , Berkelium , Nobelium , Californium , Einsteinium , Mendelevium , Fermium
Nils Gabriel Sefström , 1787-1845, vanadium
Emilio Segrè , 1905–1989, technetium
Frederick Soddy , 1877-1956, Isotopie
Ida Tacke , 1896–1978, Rhenium
Smithson Tennant , 1761-1815, Osmium , Iridium
Morris William Travers , 1872–1961, neon , krypton , xenon
Georges Urbain , 1872–1938, Ytterbium and Lutetium
Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin , 1763–1829, chrome , beryllium , osmium
Carl Auer von Welsbach , 1858–1929, neodymium , praseodymium , ytterbium , lutetium
Clemens Alexander Winkler , 1838–1904, indium , germanium
William Hyde Wollaston , 1766-1828, palladium , rhodium

Inorganic and General Chemistry

Maria the Jewess , between the 1st and 3rd centuries, founder of alchemy , inventor of the ash bath , the bain-marie , the pressure cooker and the first distillation apparatus
Jabir ibn Hayyan (giver), (around 721 to around 815), father of chemistry
Zosimos from Panopolis , approx. 350 – approx. 420, metal dissolution by sulfuric acid , oxygen release from red mercury oxide
Albertus Magnus , around 1200–1280, De Rebus Metallicis et de Mineralibus
Svante Arrhenius , 1859–1927, electrolytic dissociation, concept of acid
Wilhelm Biltz , 1877–1943, Colloid Chemistry; thermal, caloric and radiographic analysis methods
Claude Louis Berthollet , 1748–1822, the bleaching effect of chlorine
Jöns Jacob Berzelius , 1779–1848, notation for chemical elements
Johann Friedrich Böttger , 1682–1719, alchemist , porcelain manufacture
Rudolf Christian Böttger , 1806–1881, electroplating , gun cotton , safety matches
Alexander Michailowitsch Butlerow 1828–1886 Structure , structural formula
Henry Cavendish , 1731-1810, Air Composition
Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner , 1780–1849, catalysis by platinum , triad rule
Ernst Otto Fischer , 1918–2007, organometallic compounds, sandwich compounds, NP 1973
Johan Gadolin , 1760–1852, rare earths
Johann Rudolph Glauber , around 1604–1670, medicinal properties / technical production of Glauber's salt
Thomas Graham , 1805-1869, Colloid Chemistry
Fritz Haber , 1868–1934, Ammoniaksynthese , NP 1919
Marie Lavoisier , 1758–1836, Memoires de Chimie
Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier , 1743–1794, interpretation of combustion as oxygen uptake
Nicolas Leblanc , 1742–1806, soda production
Georges Leclanché , 1839–1882, zinc-manganese dioxide cell (battery)
Justus Freiherr von Liebig , 1803–1873, mineral fertilizers, baking powder , silver mirror reaction
Dmitri Iwanowitsch Mendelejew , 1834–1907, first periodic table
Carl Gustav Mosander , 1797–1858, rare earths
Alfred Nobel , 1833–1896, Dynamit , Nobel Prize Foundation
Christian Friedrich Schönbein , 1799–1868, ozone
Ernest Solvay , 1838-1922, Solvay Process
Søren Sørensen , 1868-1939, pH defined
Alfred Stock , 1876–1946, borohydrides, silanes, mercury
Theodor Svedberg , 1884–1971, Kolloidchemie, NP 1926
Joseph Wilson Swan , 1828–1914, photography : dry method through bromide paper

Otto Tachenius , 1610–1680, silicas , fatty acids and bases

Alfred Werner , 1866–1919, coordination compounds , NP 1913

Richard Zsigmondy , 1865-1929, Colloid Chemistry, NP 1925

Organic chemistry

Arnaldus de Villanova , 1235–1311, inventor of the Vin Doux Naturel , litmus as an indicator , maceration
Kurt Alder , 1902–1958, Diels-Alder reaction , NP 1950
Heinrich Biltz , 1865–1943, steam density determinations; Detection of the oxidative degradation of uric acid with various oxidizing agents
Herbert C. Brown , 1912-2004, Hydroboration → Organoborane, NP 1979
James Mason Crafts , 1839-1917, Friedel-Crafts alkylation
Otto Diels , 1876–1954, Dielsynthese, NP 1950
Michael Faraday , 1791–1867, discovery of benzene and butylene
Hans Fischer , 1881–1945, hemin and chlorophyll
Emil Fischer , 1852–1919, chemistry and constitution of carbohydrates , Fischer projection, sugar and purine synthesis, NP 1902
Rudolph Fittig , 1835–1910, presentation of alkylbenzenes, Wurtz-Fittig synthesis
Charles Friedel , 1832-1899, Friedels-Crafts alkylation
Francois Auguste Victor Grignard , 1871–1935, Magnesiumorganyle, NP 1912
Otto Hahn , 1879–1968, bromine derivatives of isoeugenol, quinone methide
Albert Hofmann , 1906–2008, Synthesis of LSD 1938
August W. von Hofmann , 1818–1892, Hofmann's rule for elimination
Barend Coenraad Petrus Jansen , 1884–1962, first isolation of vitamin B ₁
Sir Christopher Kelk Ingold , 1893–1970, nomenclature: R / S naming of enantiomers
August Friedrich Kekulé von Stradonitz , 1829–1896, benzene structure, representation of bonds as lines
Hermann Kolbe , 1818–1884, synthesis of acetic acid from inorganic substances
Emil Knoevenagel , 1865–1921, Syntheses of cyclohexane, benzene and pyridine derivatives from diketones
Johann Josef Loschmidt , 1821–1895, benzene structure, representation of bonds as lines
Justus Freiherr von Liebig , 1803–1873, chloroform
Vladimir Markovnikov , 1838–1904, Regioselectivity in addition
Robert Bruce Merrifield , 1921-2006, Solid Phase Synthesis, NP 1984
Giulio Natta , 1903–1979, catalytic polymerisation , NP 1963
George A. Olah , * 1927, Carbocations, NP 1994
Louis Pasteur , 1822–1895, first resolution
Vladimir Prelog , 1906–1998, Stereochemistry of Organic Molecules and Reactions, NP 1975
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge , 1794–1867, aniline , caffeine
Christian Friedrich Schönbein , 1799–1868, ozone , gun cotton
Alexander Schönberg , 1892–1985, photochemistry
Hermann Staudinger , 1881–1965, polymers
Gilbert Stork , 1921-2017, Total Synthesis of Quinine
Ivar Ugi , 1930-2005, Multicomponent Reactions, Combinatorial Chemistry
Joseph Wilson Swan , 1828–1914, manufacture of synthetic fibers : nitrocellulose is pressed through a spinneret
Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin , 1763-1829, asparagine
Otto Wallach , 1847–1931, terpenes
Georg Wittig , 1897–1987, olefin synthesis with phosphorylides ( Wittig reaction ), NP 1979
Adolf Windaus , 1876–1959, Sterine , Vitamine , NP 1928
Friedrich Wöhler , 1800–1882, beginning of synthetic organic chemistry with urea synthesis
William Hyde Wollaston , 1766–1828, atomic arrangement in space, cysteine
Robert B. Woodward , 1917–1979, organic synthesis: cholesterol , strychnine , chlorophyll , vitamin B12 , NP 1965
Charles Adolphe Wurtz , 1817–1884, Wurtz-Fittig synthesis , synthesis of ethylamine , discovery of glycol and phosphorus oxychloride
Karl Ziegler , 1898–1973, catalytic polymerisation , NP 1963

biochemistry

Eduard Buchner , 1860–1917, Discovery of cell-free fermentation, NP 1907

Adolf Butenandt , 1903–1995, important work on steroids and insect pheromones, NP 1939

Melvin Calvin , 1911–1997, Work on Photosynthesis ( Calvin Cycle), NP 1961

Hans von Euler-Chelpin , 1873–1964, Enlightenment of alcoholic fermentation, NP 1929

Arthur Harden , 1865–1940, Studies on Glycolysis, NP 1929

Kurt Henseleit , 1907–1973, discovery of the urea cycle, (together with HA Krebs)

Franz Knoop , 1875–1946, discovery of the β-oxidation of fatty acids

Hans Adolf Krebs , 1900–1981, discovery of the citric acid cycle, also known as the Krebs cycle, and the urea cycle, NP 1953

Otto Fritz Meyerhof , 1884–1951, work on the energy metabolism in muscles, NP 1922

Anselme Payen , 1795–1871, discovery of the first enzyme, diastase

Frederick Sanger , 1918–2013, Clarification of the structure of insulin and work on protein sequencing, NP 1958, and sequencing of nucleic acids, NP 1980

Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrápolt , 1893–1986, Isolation of Vitamin C, NP 1937

Otto Warburg , 1883–1970 Clarification of the respiratory chain, NP (for physiology or medicine) 1931

Analytical chemistry

Robert Bunsen , 1811–1899, gasometry, spectroscopy
Carl Remigius Fresenius , 1818–1897, Journal for Analytical Chemistry
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac , 1778–1850, pipette , burette , titration
Walther Hempel , 1851–1916, technical gas analysis
George de Hevesy , 1885–1966, Tracer Method , Neutron Activation Analysis , NP 1943
Jaroslav Heyrovský , 1890–1967, polarography , NP 1959
Johan Kjeldahl 1849–1900, development of a method for the determination of proteins
Archer JP Martin , 1910-2002, Chromatographie , NP 1952
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge , 1794–1867, paper chromatography
Andreas Libavius , 1555–1616, co-founder of modern chemistry, cation separation
Richard LM Synge , 1914-1994, Chromatography, NP 1952
Alan Walsh , 1916-1998, Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

technical chemistry

Georgius Agricola , 1490–1555, writings on mineralogy, mining and smelting
Carl Josef Bayer , 1847–1904, Bayer process for aluminum production
Carl Bosch , 1874–1940, ammonia synthesis, high pressure process, NP 1931
Walter Fuchs , 1891–1957, researcher into coal formation
William Justin Kroll , 1890–1973, titanium manufacture
Nicolas Leblanc 1742–1806, Leblanc process for making soda
John Mercer , 1791-1866, Mercerization , Dyes
Ferdinand Frédéric Henri Moissan , 1852–1920, Moissan oven, NP 1906
Wilhelm Ostwald , 1853–1932, Production of nitric acid from ammonia , NP 1909

Physical chemistry

- For atoms, molecules and orbitals see below

Amedeo Avogadro , 1776-1856, Avogadro's Gas Act
Max Bodenstein , 1871–1942, chemical kinetics
Ludwig Boltzmann , 1844–1906, frequency distribution of kinetic energy
Georg Bredig , 1868–1944, catalysis
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen , 1811–1899, Bunsen burner , spectral analysis
Peter Josephus Wilhelmus Debye , 1884–1966, molecular dipole moments, diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases, NP 1936
Michael Faraday , 1791–1867, charge in electrolysis
Joseph von Fraunhofer , 1787–1826, investigation of the solar spectrum
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac , 1778-1850, Gas Act
Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff 1852-1911, stereochemistry
Walther Nernst , 1864–1941, Thermodynamics , Electrochemistry , NP 1920
Erich Hückel , 1896–1980, Hückel rule , Debye-Hückel theory of electrochemistry
Johann Josef Loschmidt , 1821–1895, Loschmidt constant , thermodynamics , electrodynamics and optics
Wilhelm Ostwald , 1853–1932, Equilibria, Reaction Rates, NP 1909
Peter Waage , 1833–1900, law of mass action
Johannes Diderik van der Waals , 1837–1923, gas equation
Gerhard Ertl , Nobel Laureate 2007 , father of modern surface chemistry

Atoms, molecules , orbitals

Leukippus , in the 5th century BC BC, idea of the atomistic structure of matter
Democritus , 460–371 BC BC, founder of atomism
Francis William Aston , 1877–1945, mass spectrometry , NP 1922
Niels Bohr , 1885–1962, atomic model
John Dalton , 1766–1844, modern atomic theory, first table with relative atomic masses
Otto Hahn , 1879–1968, pioneer of radiochemistry, founder of nuclear chemistry , discoverer of protactinium , nuclear isomerism and nuclear fission of the uranium atom, NP 1944
Erich Hückel , 1896–1980, molecular orbital calculations
Walter Kohn , 1923–2016, density functional theory , NP 1998
Walter Kossel , 1888–1956, Ionic bond theory (octet rule)
Gilbert N. Lewis , 1875–1946, Covalent Bond Theory (Octet Rule)
Willard Frank Libby , 1906-1980, radiocarbon dating , NP 1960
Lise Meitner , 1878–1968, first physical interpretation of nuclear fission (together with Otto Robert Frisch )
Rudolph Pariser , * 1923, molecular orbital calculations
Robert G. Parr , 1921-2017, molecular orbital calculations
Linus Carl Pauling , 1901-1994, chemical bond , hybrid orbitals
John Anthony Pople , 1925–2004, molecular orbital calculations, ab-inition calculation methods, Gaussian program
Ernest Rutherford , 1871–1937, atomic model , NP 1908
John C. Slater , 1900–1976, Theory of Multi-Electron Systems
Fritz Straßmann , 1902–1980, nuclear fission , together with Otto Hahn