Famous Chemists - List of Famous Chemists - page 6

Chemists are the scientists who specialize in the field of chemistry. They investigate the chemical nature of substances and how they behave under different conditions to search for new knowledge. Compounds, both organic and inorganic, are examined to determine their chemical and physical properties, composition, structure, and reactivity. Chemists try to decode the details of the chemical molecules and their component atoms. The knowledge gained through research is used to understand the composition and properties of unknown substances, and is used in practical applications in industries. Since chemicals play a vital role in virtually all types of industries, chemists are employed in various industrial establishments, especially those dealing in plastics, medicines, pharmaceuticals, and chemical industries. They also work in research and in university teaching positions. Newer discoveries and findings in the field of chemistry lead to the development of better products, processes and analytical methods. Chemistry is a vast field divided into several overlapping sub-branches: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, etc. Chemists primarily work in laboratories and use a variety of techniques in their research like spectroscopy, chromatography, and spectrophotometry. Read on to discover about the life and works of various famous chemists, through their biographies and timelines, from all over the world.

The Most Famous Chemists

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Henry CavendishOctober 10, 1731BritishHenry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth
Walter KohnMarch 9, 1923AustrianNobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist
Jabir Ibn Hayyan721IranianJabir Ibn Hayyan was a medieval era polymath
Stephanie KwolekJuly 31, 1923AmericanStephanie Kwolek was an American chemist whose research work led to the development of the synthetic fiber, Kevlar
Amedeo AvogadroAugust 9, 1776ItalianAmedeo Avogadro was an Italian scientist who formulated what is now known as Avogadro's law
Humphry DavyDecember 17, 1778BritishSir Humphry Davy was a British chemist who made major contributions to the discoveries of chlorine and iodine
Willard LibbyDecember 17, 1908AmericanWillard Frank Libby was an American physical chemist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’ in Chemistry in 1960
Mario J. MolinaMarch 19, 1943MexicanMario Molina is a Nobel Prize winning chemist from Mexico who co-developed the theory of ozone depletion due to CFCs
Robert BunsenMarch 30, 1811GermanRobert Bunsen was a German chemist who developed the Bunsen burner with Peter Desaga
Marie CurieNovember 7, 1867PolishMarie Curie was a Physicist and Chemist, who was world renowned for her work on radioactivity
Richard Kuhn

Richard Kuhn

Richard Kuhn was an Austrian-German biochemist

GermanDecember 3, 1900150 views

Edward Calvin Kendall

Edward Calvin Kendall was an American chemist known for his work with hormones of the adrenal gland

AmericanMarch 8, 1886115 views

Konrad Emil Bloch

Konrad Bloch was a German American biochemist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine’ in 1964

GermanJanuary 21, 1912103 views

Tadeusz Reichstein

Tadeusz Reichstein was a Polish born Swiss chemist known for his discoveries concerning hormones of the adrenal cortex

PolishJuly 20, 1897129 views

Paul Hermann Müller

Paul Hermann Muller was a Swiss Chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of a form of DDT

SwissJanuary 12, 1899112 views

Paul Karrer

Paul Karrer was a Swiss Organic Chemist who synthesized various Vitamins and derived their structural formulas

SwissApril 21, 1889119 views

Richard R. Ernst

Richard Robert Ernst is a Swiss chemist, researcher and teacher who won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1991

SwissAugust 14, 1933211 views

Irène Joliot-Curie

Irene Joliot-Curie was a Nobel Laureate who along with her husband, Frederic Joliot, discovered artificial radioactivity

FrenchSeptember 12, 1897248 views

Kurt Alder

Kurt Alder was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1950

GermanJuly 10, 1902110 views

Friedrich Bergius

Friedrich Karl Rudolf Bergius was a German chemist known for the Bergius process for producing synthetic fuel from coal

GermanOctober 11, 1884113 views