Significant Milestones in Chemistry: A Timeline of Influential Chemists
Vera Koester Author: Vera Koester
Starting from the early alchemists we take a journey through time to examine how each of these chemists pushed the boundaries of what is possible
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Alchemy, an ancient branch of natural philosophy, studied substance properties and reactions since the 1st/2nd century. It was a proto-scientific tradition in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. Modern chemistry and pharmacology replaced it during the 17th and 18th centuries.

1600

During the Renaissance and 17th century, the scientific method—emphasizing the importance of observation and experimentation in gaining knowledge about the world—was developed and refined, leading to the foundation of modern chemistry and other scientific disciplines. Discoveries of gases, improvements in alchemy, advancements in metal production, and developments in chemistry’s role in medicine were also made during this period.

1604 – 1670 Johann Rudolph Glauber

Discovered sodium sulfate, also known as Glauber’s salt 1623 – 1662 Blaise Pascal

Made important contributions to probability theory and the understanding of the equilibrium of fluids 1627 – 1691 Robert Boyle

Discovered Boyle’s law, which describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a gas 1673 – 1734 Johann Konrad Dippel

Alchemist, who was well-known for selling his animal oil as “Elixir vitae” and co-developed a process for the production of Prussian blue

1700

In the 18th century, new gases such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen were discovered, and the phlogiston theory was widely accepted but later proven incorrect. New elements were discovered, and Antoine Lavoisier introduced a new system of chemical nomenclature. Additionally, chemical instrumentation such as the balance, calorimeter, and spectroscope were developed for analysis and measurement.

1716 – 1795 Antonio de Ulloa

Is credited with the first scientific description of platinum 1722 – 1765 Axel Fredrik Cronstedt

Swedish researcher discovered nickel and is considered a founder of modern mineralogy 1743 – 1794 Antoine Lavoisier

Disproved the phlogiston theory and he is often considered the father of modern chemistry 1748 – 1822 Claude Louis Berthollet

French chemist well-known for work on modern nomenclature in chemistry, equilibria, dyes, and bleaches 1760 – 1852 Johan Gadolin

Discovered the first rare-earth compounds 1763 – 1829 Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin

Discovered chromium and beryllium 1766 – 1844 John Dalton

Introduced modern atomic theory 1767 – 1845 Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure

One of the major pioneers in the study of photosynthesis 1767 – 1813 Anders Gustav Ekeberg

Discovered the transition metal tantalum 1786 – 1889 Michel Eugène Chevreul

Studied fatty acids and improved soap and candle production 1792 – 1841 Johan August Arfwedson

Discovered lithium 1799 – 1868 Christian Friedrich Schönbein

Discovered ozone and guncotton

1800

In the 19th century, John Dalton proposed his atomic theory, which laid the foundation for understanding atoms and chemical reactions. Organic chemistry was born, with Friedrich Wöhler’s synthesis of urea challenging the theory of vitalism. Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic table organized elements by their properties, while electrochemistry made progress with the discovery of electrolysis and batteries. Finally, thermodynamics developed as a branch of chemistry with contributions from Rudolf Clausius and James Clerk Maxwell.

1803 – 1873 Justus von Liebig

Major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry 1804 – 1869 Otto Linné Erdmann

Determined atomic weights 1805 – 1869 Thomas Graham

Formulated Graham’s law and is considered one of the founders of colloid chemistry 1813 – 1898 Henry Bessemer

Pioneered research in the field of surface tension and the measurement of surface films 1815 – 1902 Maxwell Simpson

Performed the first synthesis of succinic acid 1816 – 1856 Charles Frédéric Gerhardt

Developed the concept of homologous series 1817 – 1870 William Allen Miller

Was a pioneer of spectral analysis and astrochemistry 1818 – 1892 August Wilhelm von Hofmann

Made important contributions to organic chemistry 1818 – 1881 Henri Sainte-Claire Deville

Discovered toluene and nitrogen pentoxide 1818 – 1889 James Prescott Joule

Formulated Joule’s first and second laws and co-discovered the Joule–Thomson effect 1821 – 1895 Johann Josef Loschmidt

Bohemian-Austrian scientist who performed ground-breaking work in physical and general chemistry 1822 – 1895 Louis Pasteur

Invented pasteurization, which conserves food by killing pathogens 1822 – 1871 Adolph Strecker

Well-known for the Strecker amino acid synthesis 1824 – 1914

Johann Wilhelm Hittorf

Pioneered the calculation of electricity-carrying capacity of charged atoms and molecules, important for understanding electrochemical reactions

1825 – 1863 August Beer

German researcher well-known for his contributions to the Beer–Lambert–Bouguer law 1828 – 1914 Sir Joseph Wilson Swan

Was one of the inventors of the incandescent light bulb 1829 – 1935 Friedrich August Kekulé

Assigned the cyclic structure to benzene 1829 – 1921 William Odling

English chemist who contributed to the development of the periodic table and the concept of valence 1830 – 1895 Lothar Meyer

German chemist and physician developed one of the first periodic tables of chemical elements 1833 – 1896 Alfred Nobel

Invented dynamite and established the Nobel Prize in his will 1834 – 1916 Adolph Frank

Recognized the potential of potash for fertilizer production 1836 – 1918

Alexander Mitscherlich

Developed an early version of the sulfite process for the production of cellulose from wood

1837 – 1923 Johannes Diderik van der Waals

Dutch Nobel Laureate and theoretical physicist and thermodynamicist known for his pioneering work on the equation of state for gases and liquids 1838 – 1907 Sir William Henry Perkin

British chemist and entrepreneur, discoverer of the first synthetic organic dye and the Perkin reaction for the production of cinnamic acid and coumarin 1838 – 1920 Carl Alexander von Martius

Discovered Martius yellow, the first industrially used naphthalin-based dye 1839 – 1917 James Mason Crafts

Co-developed the Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions, which can functionalize aromatic rings 1842 – 1911 Ellen Swallow Richards

Was the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an environmental chemist 1842 – 1919 Lord Rayleigh

Co-discovered argon 1845 – 1920 Wilhelm Pfeffer

Developed the Pfeffer cell, a device to measure osmotic pressure 1846 – 1919 Julia Lermontova

First Russian woman to receive a doctoral degree in chemistry 1847 – 1931 Wilhelm Haarmann

Co-discoverer of the first synthesis of vanillin 1848 – 1922 Philippe Barbier

French organic chemist known as a pioneer of organometallic chemistry 1852 – 1916 Sir William Ramsay

Discovered multiple noble gases

1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1852 – 1919 Emil Fischer

Contributions to carbohydrate and purine research, and developed the “lock and key” model for enzyme-substrate interactions

1902 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1853 – 1923 Ernst Otto Beckmann

German pharmacist and chemist well-known for the discovery of the Beckmann rearrangement and the development of the Beckmann differential thermometer 1854 – 1915 Paul Ehrlich

Made seminal contributions to immunology and developed treatments for syphilis and diphtheria

1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1855 – 1923 Emanuel August Merck

Partner of Merck KGaA, grandson of the company’s founder, instrumental in growing the company’s workforce, chairman of predecessor of GDCh, preserved laboratory of Justus von Liebig, a friend of his grandfather 1856 – 1919 Mitsuru Kuhara

First President of the Tokyo Chemical Society, one of the earliest chemical societies 1857 – 1922 Giacomo Ciamician

Italian chemist and pioneer of photochemistry 1858 – 19?? Joji Sakurai

Was the first chemistry professor at Tokyo University and helped found the Japanese research institute RIKEN 1859 – 1921 Ludwig Knorr

German chemist known for the Knorr quinoline synthesis, the Knorr pyrrole synthesis, and the Paal–Knorr synthesis 1859 – 1927 Svante Arrhenius

Swedish Nobel Laureate known for work on the theory of electrolytic dissociation, activation energy, and the pioneering theory of global warming 1862 – 1935 Agnes Pockels

Pioneered research in the field of surface tension and the measurement of surface films 1863 – 1944 Leo Hendrik Baekeland

Invented bakelite, one of the first synthetic plastics 1864 – 1941 Walther Nernst

Is best known for the Nernst equation, which gives the potential of a half-cell in electrochemistry

1920 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. 1865 – 1954 William M. Burton

Developed the first commercially successful thermal cracking method for producing gasoline 1865 – 1921 Emil Knoevenagel

Developed the Knoevenagel condensation, a modified aldol condensation 1866 – 1947 Moses Gomberg

Discovered the first stable free radical 1866 – 1926 Paul Immerwahr

Brother of Clara Immerwahr who provided the stimulus and money for the syntheses of the insecticide pyrethrum and artificial pepper 1866 – 1919 Alfred Werner

Developed the concept of the coordination number

1913 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1866 – 1940 Samuel Eyde

Co-developed the Birkeland–Eyde process for the fixation of nitrogen 1866 – 1940 William Lash Miller

Was the leading proponent of Gibbs’ thermodynamics in North America 1867 – 1935 Erik Christian Clemmensen

Invented the Clemmensen reduction, which converts carbonyls to methylene groups 1867 – 1941 Daniel Vorländer

Was a liquid crystal pioneer 1868 – 1928

Theodore William Richards

Determined the exact atomic weights of many chemical elements

1914 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1868 – 1943 Fritz Haber

Co-invented the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia

1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1868 – 1939 Søren Sørensen

Developed the concept of the pH scale 1869 – 1910 Richard Abegg

Pioneered valence theory 1870 – 1915 Clara Immerwahr

Was the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in chemistry in Germany and an activist for women’s rights 1870 – 1939 Sir William Jackson Pope

British chemist and crystallographer known for his work on optically active N, S, Se, or Sn compounds 1871 – 1935 Victor Grignard

French chemist known for Grignard reagents and the C–C bond-forming Grignard reaction

1912 Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1872 – 1935 Lafayette B. Mendel

American biochemist known for the co-discovery of vitamin A 1872 – 1938 Georges Urbain

French chemist discovered the element lutetium 1872 – 1952 Mary Engle Pennington

American bacteriological chemist who was a pioneer in food safety and refrigeration 1873 – 1964 Hans von Euler-Chelpin

Explained the enzymatic fermentation of sugar

1929 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1874 – 1940 Carl Bosch

Co-invented the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia 1878 – 1968 Lise Meitner

Made important contributions to nuclear chemistry 1879 – 1960

Max von Laue

Discovered the diffraction of X-rays by crystals

1914 Nobel Prize in Physics

1879 – 1967 Elmer McCollum

Discovered the first vitamins 1879 – 1968 Otto Hahn

Discovered nuclear fission

1944 Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1879 – 1960 Maud Leonora Menten

Together with Leonor Michaelis, and based on work by Victor Henri, she developed the Henri-Michaelis-Menten kinetics 1880 – 1934 Friedrich Heinrich August Klatte

Received the first patent for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 1881 – 1965 Hermann Staudinger

Is considered the “father of polymer chemistry” and discovered the first ketene

1953 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1884 – 1949 Friedrich Bergius

Developed the Bergius process for producing synthetic fuel from coal

1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1884 – 1966 Peter Debye

Performed important investigations on dipole moments and on X-ray diffraction

1936 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1884 – 1968 Chika Kuroda

The first female chemist to graduate from university in Japan worked in organic chemistry, specifically on plant dyes 1892 – 1987

Louis de Broglie

Proposed the theory of the wave-particle duality of matter

1929 Nobel Prize in Physics

1893 – 1970 Sir Christopher Kelk Ingold

Performed pioneering work on reaction mechanisms and coined terms such as nucleophilic and electrophilic 1893 – 1981 Harold Urey

Co-discovered deuterium 1893 – 1989 Lili Wachenheim

First female chemist to do research in a BASF laboratory 1894 – 1993 Izaak Kolthoff

Pioneered modern analytical chemistry 1895 – 1968 Hertha Sponer

Co-developed the Birge–Sponer method 1895 – 1982 William Giauque

Worked on thermodynamics and cryogenics

1949 Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1895 – 1970 Margaret D. Foster

Pioneered research in the field of surface tension and the measurement of surface films 1896 – 1957 Gerty Cori

Known for the co-discovery of the Cori cycle and the Cori ester

1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1897 – 1971 Robert Corey

American biochemist known for his role in discovery of the α-helix and the β-sheet 1897 – 1987 Georg Wittig

Well-known for the Wittig reaction and Wittig rearrangements

1979 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1897 – 1996

Tadeusz Reichstein

Polish-Swiss chemist developed a method for vitamin C synthesis and isolated cortisone

1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1898 – 1980

Rachel Fuller Brown

American chemist co-developed the antifungal medication nystatin

1899 – 1975

Percy Lavon Julian

An African American organic chemist who overcame every barrier to become a pioneer in his field, remarkable in a scientific context and on a human level

1900

In the 20th century, significant advancements were made in various areas of chemistry, including the development of quantum mechanics, polymer chemistry, nuclear chemistry, materials science, green chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and computational chemistry. These advancements have led to the development of new technologies, materials, and medicines, as well as a focus on sustainability and minimizing the impact of chemical processes on the environment.

1901

First Nobel Prizes

Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff = Chemistry

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen = Physics

Emil von Behring, the Founder of Serum Therapy = Physiology or Medicine

1900 – 1967 Richard Kuhn

Carried out groundbreaking work on the structures of vitamins

1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1901 – 1994 Linus Pauling

Elucidated the quantum mechanical nature of the chemical bond

1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1962 Nobel Peace Prize 1902 – 1996 Tetsuo Nozoe

Worked on the isolation of natural products and collected over 4000 signatures from famous scientists 1902 – 1971 Arne Tiselius

Developed electrophoresis

1948 Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1903 – 1979 Giulio Natta

Italian Nobel Laureate well-known for his work on Ziegler–Natta catalysts for polymer synthesis

1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1904 – 1993 Carolina Henriette MacGillavry

Dutch chemist and crystallographer known for her discoveries on the use of diffraction in crystallography 1905 – 1993 Severo Ochoa de Albornoz

Well-known for his work on polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase)

1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906 – 2008 Albert Hofmann

Discovered the psychopharmacological effects of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) 1906 – 1995 Allene Jeanes

American chemist known for the development of large-scale dextran production and xanthan gum 1910 – 2002

Archer John Porter Martin

Invented partition chromatography together with Richard Synge

1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1910 – 1994 Dorothy Hodgkin

Pioneered the study of biomolecules by X-ray crystallography

1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911 – 1976 Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen

Discovered critical details of the cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism

1964 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1912 – 2004 Herbert C. Brown

Introduced hydroborations to organic chemistry and co-discovered sodium borohydride

1979 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1912 – 1999 Glenn T. Seaborg

Co-discovered ten transuranium elements

1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1912 – 1971 Charles D. Coryell

American chemist co-discovered promethium 1913 – 1989 Kurt Zosel

Patented the use of supercritical fluid extraction in the decaffeination of coffee 1913 – 2009 Mildred Cohn

Made important contributions to the understanding of enzymatic reactions 1914 – 1994 Richard Laurence Millington Synge

Co-developed partition chromatography

1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1915 – 2010 Albert Ghiorso

Co-discovered 12 chemical elements 1915 – 2005 Henry Taube

Made seminal contributions to the understanding of electron exchange and ligand exchange in complexes 1916 – 1995 Christian B. Anfinsen

Discovered important aspects of protein folding

1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1916 – 1977 Pehr Victor Edman

Invented a breakthrough method for sequencing proteins 1916 – 2004

Francis Crick

Co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA

1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1917 – 1979 Robert Burns Woodward

Co-discovered the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, which predict the barrier heights of pericyclic reactions

1965 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1917 – 2011 Herbert A. Hauptman

Laid the mathematical groundwork for solving crystal structures

1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1917 – 2016 Ines Mandl

Discovered collagenase 1917 – 2013 Sir John Cornforth

Explained the biosynthesis of cholesterol

1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1917 – 1935 Rodney R. Porter

Discovered the structure of antibodies

1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1917 – 2002

Martin Kamen

Confirmed the existence of the carbon isotope 14C, which is used in radiocarbon dating 1917 – 2012 William Knowles

Asymmetric synthesis, especially hydrogenation reactions

2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1917 – 2006 Asima Chatterjee

One of India’s most famous female chemists 1917 – 1997 John Kendrew

Discovered the structure of myoglobin

1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918 – 2013 Jerome Karle

Co-developed the theoretical foundation for the determination of crystal structures by X-ray diffraction

1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918 – 1998

Sir Derek Barton

Pioneered the conformational analysis of organic molecules

1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1918 – 2007 Ernst Otto Fischer

Co-discovered the structure of ferrocene

1973 Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1918 – 2013 Frederick Sanger

Pioneered DNA sequencing technique,

1958 and 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918 – 1998 Kenichi Fukui

Groundbreaking theoretical work on chemical reactivity,

1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1919 – 2005 Larned B. Asprey

Pioneered actinide and fluoride chemistry 1919 – 2001 Donald J. Cram

Pioneered host–guest chemistry

1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1920 – 2002 George Porter

Co-developed flash photolysis

1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1921 – 2017 Robert G. Parr

American theoretical chemist co-authored one of the most highly cited chemistry papers of all time 1921 – 2017 Isabella Karle

U.S. chemist known for her work on X-ray crystallography and the Manhattan Project 1927 – 2019 Manfred Eigen

Pioneered the so-called relaxation methods, which make it possible to determine reaction rates in the micro- and nanosecond range

1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1927 – 2017 George A. Olah

Generation and reactivity of carbocations

1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1928 – 2018 Osamu Shimomura

Discovered and developed the green fluorescent protein (GFP) with Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien

2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1929 – 2011 Rudolf Mössbauer

Discovery of recoilless nuclear resonance fluorescence, known as the Mössbauer effect, which is the basis for Mössbauer spectroscopy

1961 Nobel Prize in Physics 1931 – 2015 Richard F. Heck

The eponymous Heck reaction allows the formation of carbon-carbon bonds, and is one of the most widely used catalytic reactions in organic synthesis

2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1933 – 2021 Richard Ernst

Developed two-dimensional NMR and several novel pulse techniques

1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1933 – 2021 Paul J. Crutzen

Best known for his work on ozone depletion in the stratosphere

1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935 – 2021 Ei-ichi Negishi

Best known for the Negishi coupling, a transition-metal-catalyzed reaction of organic halides or triflates with organozinc compounds

2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1937 Roald Hoffmann

Co-discovered the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, which predict the barrier heights of pericyclic reactions

1981 Nobelpreis für Chemie 1937 Avram Hershko

Known for his contributions to the discovery of the ubiquitin system, a cellular regulatory system that controls protein degradation in cells

2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1938 – 2019 Margarita Salas

Biochemist and molecular geneticist best known for her studies on DNA, especially the discovery and characterization of Φ29 phage DNA polymerase 1938 Ryoji Noyori

Developed chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions using ruthenium–BINAP complexes

2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1939 Jean-Marie Lehn

Made important contributions to the inception of supramolecular chemistry

1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1939 Ada E. Yonath

Pioneering work on the structure of ribosomes

2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1939 – 2016 Sir Harold Walter Kroto

Discovered fullerenes

1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1941 Dan Shechtman

Discovery of quasicrystals, which are ordered but non-repeating structures in solids

2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1942 – 2021 Robert H. Grubbs

Work on olefin metathesis, i.e., reactions in which C=C bonds are broken and reformed to connect alkene fragments in new ways

2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1946 – 2016 Ahmed H. Zewail

Pioneered the use of femtosecond spectroscopy

1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1952 – 2016 Roger Tsien

Co-Discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP)

2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

In the first two decades of the 21st century, there have been significant achievements in chemistry, including the study of nanotechnology, chemical biology, renewable energy, advanced materials, climate change, and the use of artificial intelligence to design new materials and predict molecule properties.

Science Fiction

The future of chemistry is bright, with endless possibilities for discovery and innovation. As new technologies emerge and new challenges arise, chemists will continue to play a critical role in shaping the world around us. And science fiction fans already know some of the things that will be developed 😉