Masaru Emoto (1943)
Robert Nalbandyan (1937) is the co-discoverer of the photosynthetic
protein plantacyanin and a pioneer in the field of free radicals,
Robert Curl (1933) discoverer of fullerenes, wich are one of only four types of naturally
occurring forms of carbon (the other three being diamond, graphite and ceraphite)
Neil Bartlett (1932) prepared the first noble gas compound, xenon hexafluoroplatinate,
Xe+[PtF6]-. This contradicted all ideas chemists had of the nature of valency, as it was
believed that xenon, like all noble gases, was totally inert to chemical combination
Stanley L. Miller (1930) showed in the Miller-Urey experiment that, if a mixture of
ammonia, methane and hydrogen be exposed to ultraviolet radiation and to water,
it can interact to produce amino acids, the building blocks of life
Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003) was a Belgian physicist and chemist noted for
his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility
Robert Burns Woodward (1917-1979) was an American organic chemist, widely regarded as
the preeminent organic chemist of the century. He made many outstanding contributions to modern
organic chemistry, especially through the synthesis and structure determination of complex natural products
Glenn Theodore Seaborg (1912-1999) was prominent in the discovery and isolation
of many transuranic elements (including plutonium, during the Manhattan Project)
Melvin Calvin (1911-1997) was a chemist most famed for discovering the Calvin cycle
Roy J. Plunkett (1910-1994) was the chemist who accidentally invented Teflon
Willard Frank Libby (1908-1980) was an American chemist, famous for his role in the
development of radiocarbon dating, a process which revolutionised archaeology
Dr. Albert Hofmann (1906-2008) is best known as the father of LSD
Linus Carl Pauling (1901-1994) was a pioneer in the application of quantum
mechanics to chemistry, and was one of the founders of molecular biology
Robert Sanderson Mulliken (1896-1986) was primarily responsible for the
elaboration of the molecular orbital method of computing the structure of molecules
Henrik Carl Peter Dam (1895-1976) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine
in 1943 for his work in discovering vitamin K and its role in human physiology
John Lennard-Jones (1894-1954) computational chemistry
Henry Gilman (1893-1986) organometallic chemistry
Harold Clayton Urey (1893-1981) peformed the Miller-Urey experiment with Stanley L. Miller
Victor Goldschmidt (1888-1947) was a chemist considered to be the founder of modern
geochemistry and crystal chemistry, developer of the Goldschmidt Classification of elements
Irving Langmuir (1881-1957) advanced several basic fields of physics and chemistry, invented
the gas filled incandescent lamp, the hydrogen welding technique, and did work in surface chemistry
Lise Meitner (1878-1968) studied radioactivity and nuclear physics
Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875-1946) coined the term "photon" for the smallest unit of radiant energy,
published several papers on relativity, in which he derived the mass-energy relationship in a different
way from Albert Einstein's derivation, defined the term odd molecule, formulated the Lewis
theory of acids and bases, invented the chemical notation system called the Lewis dot structure
Carl Bosch (1874-1940) developed the Haber-Bosch process together with Fritz Haber, the Haber
Process (also Haber-Bosch process) is the reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen to produce ammonia
Richard Wilhelm Heinrich Abegg (1869-1910) was the pioneer of valence theory
Felix Hoffmann (1868-1946) is best known for having synthesized acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) for the
first time in a stable form usable for medical applications, which Bayer then started marketing as Aspirin
Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen (1868-1939) introduced the chemical concept pH
Maria Skłodowska-Curie (1867-1934), Pierre Curie (1859-1906) isolated and named
the radioactive elements polonium and radium, and pioneered the science of radiology
Alfred Werner (1866-1919) developed the basis for modern coordination
chemistry and proposed the octahedral configuration of transition metal complexes
Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945) geochemistry
Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) is noted for his work in hematology and immunology, and coined the term chemotherapy
Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932) invented the Ostwald process used in the manufacture of
nitric acid, leading to mass production of fertilizers and explosives. He also did significant
work on dilution theory leading to his discovery of the law of dilution which is named after him
William Ramsay (1852-1916) published several notable papers on the oxides of nitrogen
and followed these up with the discovery of argon, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon
Hermann Emil Fischer (1852-1919) his name can still be found in the names of many chemical reactions and concepts
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (1852-1911) accounted for the phenomenon of optical activity by assuming
that the chemical bonds between carbon atoms and their neighbors were directed towards the corners
of a regular tetrahedron. This three-dimensional structure perfectly accounted for the isomers found in nature
Henry Louis Le Chatelier (1850-1936) is most famous for Le Chatelier's principle, which
is used by chemists to predict the effect of a change in conditions on a chemical equilibrium
Sir James Dewar (1842-1923) discovered a process to produce liquid oxygen in industrial
quantities, developed an insulating bottle, Dewar flask, still named after him, to study low
temperature gas phenomena, and observed that cold charcoal could produce a vacuum
Johannes Diderik van der Waals (1837-1923) was the first to realise the necessity of taking into account
the volumes of molecules and the intermolecular forces (now generally called "van der Waals forces")
in establishing the relationship between the pressure, volume and temperature of gases and liquids
Alexander Mitscherlich (1836-1918) his most important
work was in the field of processing wood to create cellulose
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907) was the creator of the Periodic Table of Elements
Angelo Mariani (1832-1914) started marketing a wine called Vin Mariani which had been treated with coca leaves
Julius Lothar Meyer (1830-1895) was contemporary and competitor of Dmitri
Mendeleev to draw up the first periodic table of chemical elements. Some five
years apart, both Mendeleev and Meyer worked with Robert Bunsen
Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz (1829-1896) discovered the ring
shape of the benzene molecule after dreaming of a snake seizing its own tail
Emil Erlenmeyer (1825-1909) formulated the Erlenmeyer Rule: All alcohols in which the hydroxyl
group is attached directly to a double-bonded carbon atom become aldehydes or ketones
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) is known for his demonstration of the germ theory of disease and his
development techniques of inoculation, most notably the first vaccine against rabies; he also made
a major discovery in the field of chemistry, regarding asymmetric molecules and the polarization of light
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811-1899) perfected the burner that was named after him, invented by
British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday, and worked on emission spectroscopy of heated elements
Thomas Graham (1805-1869) discoverd the medical method known as dialysis
Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) made major contributions to agricultural and
biological chemistry, and worked on the organization of organic chemistry
Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882) is best-known for his synthesis
of urea, but was also the first to isolate several of the elements
Jean Baptiste André Dumas (1800-1884) is best known for his works on organic analysis and synthesis,
as well as the determination of atomic weights (relative atomic masses) by measuring vapor densities
Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner (1783-1841) isolated morphine from opium
Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) invented modern chemical
notation and is considered one of the fathers of modern chemistry
Bernard Courtois (1777-1838) discovered iodine
Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856) is most noted for his contributions to the theory of molarity and molecular
weight. The number of molecules in one mole is called Avogadro's number is honor of him, as is Avogadro's law
John Dalton (1766-1844) is most well known for his advocacy of the atomic theory
Johan Gadolin (1760-1852) discovered the element yttrium, the first rare earth element
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (1743-1794) is often referred to as the father of modern
chemistry, stated the first version of the Law of Conservation of Matter, recognized and
named oxygen, disproved the phlogiston theory, and helped to reform chemical nomenclature
Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) was the discoverer of many chemical
substances, most notably discovering oxygen before Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) his most important achievement was the isolation of oxygen by heating mercuric oxide
Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) is credited with having discovered hydrogen
Joseph Black (1728-1799) discovered carbon dioxide (which he called `fixed air´)
Robert Boyle (1627-1691) is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist and among
his works "The Sceptical Chemist" is seen as a cornerstone book in the field of chemistry
Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580-1644)
Michal Sedziwój (1566-1636)
John Dee (1527-1609)
Georg Agricola (1490-1555)
Nicholas Flamel (1330-1419)
Arnaldus de Villanueva (1235-1313)
Abu Bakr al Razi (854-925)
Jabir Ibn Hayyan (721-815)