William Summer Johnson
William Summer Johnson (born February 24, 1913 in New Rochelle , New York , † August 19, 1995 ) was an American chemist who was one of the leading chemists in the United States in organic synthesis at the time.
Johnson graduated from Amherst College and at Harvard University , where he in 1940 with Louis Fieser with the work I. The Synthesis of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbon II. Theoretical and Experimental Considerations doctorate was. He had to finance his studies himself and worked, for example, as a saxophonist in dance bands or as a chemist at Eastman Kodak.
From 1940 he was an instructor and 1946 professor (from 1950 Homer Adkins Professor) at the University of Wisconsin – Madison . In 1958 he became a professor at Stanford University . From 1960 to 1969 he headed the chemistry faculty, which he made one of the leading in the United States by appointing Carl Djerassi , Eugene van Tamelen , Henry Taube , Paul Flory , Harden McConnell and John Brauman . From 1969 he was Jackson Wood Professor of Chemistry and from 1978 Professor Emeritus.
Johnson made significant advances in the methodology and control of organic synthesis, both in terms of stereochemistry and regiochemistry, by introducing temporary blocking groups against undesired reaction pathways at the University of Wisconsin from the 1940s onwards . He was mainly concerned with the synthesis of steroids , and during his time at Stanford he found new synthetic routes based on the construction of ring structures from polyenes with carbocations . The Johnson-Claisen rearrangement and the Johnson-polyene cyclization are named after him.
The steroids synthesized include horse estrogens (equilinin), cortisone, and aldosterone .
From 1948 he was co-editor of Organic Synthesis .
Honors
- 1958 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
- 1968 William H. Nichols Medal
- 1970 Roussel Prize
- 1977 Roger Adams Award
- 1987 National Medal of Science
- 1989 Arthur C. Cope Award
- 1991 Tetrahedron Prize
- He received multiple honorary doctorates (including Amherst College 1956, Long Island University 1968)
He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1952) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1963).
Web links
- Biography at the NAS by Gilbert Stork, pdf
- Obituary in Organic Synthesis, by Robert Ireland, 1995, pdf ( memento of October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Biographical data, publications and academic family tree of William Summer Johnson at academictree.org, accessed on February 15, 2018.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johnson, William Summer |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 24, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Rochelle , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 19, 1995 |