Tom Tritton, President and CEO at Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, USA, talked at the Official IYC 2011 Opening Ceremony in Paris about the history of chemistry from the 17th century to present day. He did so by presenting the following chemists as the top ten rockstars in chemistry.
Chemistry Top Ten Rockstars
(Ladies first and because she has so many firsts! The gentlemen are ordered by date)
- Marie Curie (1867 – 1934)
- Antoine Lavoisier (1743 – 1794)
- Joseph Priestley (1732 – 1804)
- John Dalton (1766 – 1844)
- Justus Liebig (1803 – 1873)
- Friedrich Wöhler (1800 – 1882)
- Dmitri Mendeleev (1834 – 1907)
- Emil Fischer (1852 – 1919)
- Robert B. Woodward (1917 – 1979)
- Linus Pauling (1901 – 1994)
Suggest a Contemporary Chemist And Win a Book
We would like to continue the list with your help. Who do you think should be added from today’s chemists?
Please give your suggestions and a short description of why you think this person is a chemistry rockstar as a comment to this article by April 15th, 2011. The best three entries will receive the book Nobel Faces as a prize.
Thank you for your entries!
The books will go to:
- K Liu suggesting Ada Yonath
- Alejandro Lacalle suggesting Frederick Sanger
- Christoph Winkler suggesting Carl Djerassi
Congratulations to the lucky winners!
- Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, USA
- Tritton Blog: Periodic Table
because 1st woman in 45 years to win Nobel Prize in Chemistry and pioneering work on structure of ribosome,
I propose Dr. Frederick Sanger for being the fourth (and only living) person to have been awarded two Nobel Prizes, either wholly or in part.
Carl Djerassi, since wit his discovery of “the pill” he had a huge impact on sociology and the live of everyone. Also his “sience in fiction” novels not only bring chemistry to a broader audience but also focus on the very important topic of ethics in science.
I only miss Werner and Staudinger.
Coordination Chemistry Father