Famous Organic Chemists - List of Famous Organic Chemists

Organic chemists analyze the chemical properties and structure of organic compounds and organic materials. Organic compounds are structurally diverse compounds that contain carbon atoms. As a field of chemistry, organic chemistry involves the study of the physical as well as the chemical properties of organic compounds through spectroscopy and other methods to determine the chemical composition and constitution of such materials. Organic chemists work in a number of fields as organic compounds are present in almost all materials known to mankind such as food additives, paints, drugs, petrochemicals, plastics, explosives, etc. They also work in research and hold teaching jobs in academics. Researchers in this field basically work in the laboratory where they analyze compounds and their reactivity, and develop new compounds with the help of computers with sophisticated modeling and simulation software. Organic chemists form the foundation of the pharmaceutical industry and play a significant role in the development of new medicines to treat various diseases. They facilitate the rise in standards of living as their research is instrumental for the development of practically all industries in the business world. What follows is a collection of the biographies, timelines, trivia and other information about the professional and personal lives of some of the world’s most famous organic chemists.

The Most Famous Organic Chemists

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Dmitri MendeleevFebruary 8, 1834RussianDmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who is best known for his discovery of the periodic law
Hermann Emil FischerOctober 9, 1852GermanEmil Fischer was a Nobel Prize winning chemist from Germany who is known for inventing the ‘Fischer Projection’ method
Aleksandr BorodinNovember 12, 1833RussianAleksandr Borodin was a prodigal Russian music composer and scientist
John CornforthSeptember 7, 1917Australian, BritishJohn Warcup Cornforth was an Australian-British chemist who won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Elias James CoreyJuly 12, 1928AmericanElias James Corey is a distinguished American organic chemist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize in Chemistry’ in 1990.
Herbert C. BrownMay 22, 1912AmericanHerbert C
Adolf von BaeyerOctober 31, 1835GermanAdolf von Baeyer was a well-known German chemist who synthesized indigo
Vladimir PrelogJuly 23, 1906SwissVladimir Prelog was a famous Zürich-based chemist, who won the ‘Nobel Prize’ for his work on stereochemistry
Chaim WeizmannNovember 27, 1874BritishThe famous scientist is known for his discovery of the industrial fermentation
Georg WittigJune 16, 1897GermanGeorg Wittig was a German chemist who won a share of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1979
Jean-Marie Lehn

Jean-Marie Lehn

Jean-Marie Lehn is an eminent French chemist who was one of the joint recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1987

FrenchSeptember 30, 193996 views

Donald J. Cram

Donald James Cram was an eminent American chemist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1987

AmericanApril 22, 1919110 views

Charles J Pedersen

Charles J Pedersen was an American chemist who discovered the chemical compound, crown ethers

AmericanOctober 3, 1904114 views

Herbert C. Brown

Herbert C

AmericanMay 22, 1912176 views

Robert Burns Woodward

Robert Burns Woodward was a Nobel Prize winning American chemist known for his work on complex natural products

AmericanApril 10, 1917105 views

Elias James Corey

Elias James Corey is a distinguished American organic chemist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize in Chemistry’ in 1990.

AmericanJuly 12, 1928183 views

Georg Wittig

Georg Wittig was a German chemist who won a share of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1979

GermanJune 16, 1897161 views

William Lipscomb

William Lipscomb was an American chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1976

William Christopher Zeise

William Christopher Zeise was a Danish organic chemist who discovered the Zeise’s salt

DanishOctober 15, 1789128 views

Derek Barton

Sir Derek Harold Richard Barton was an English chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1969