List of chemists

This is a list of World famous chemists: (alphabetical order). It should include those who have been important to the development or practice of chemistry. Their research have made significant contribution in the area of basic or applied chemistry.

For a list of those chemists who are famous because of other accomplishments, see the section Chemists famous in other areas.

A

• Atul Kumar, (Born 1963), Indian chemist
• Emil Abderhalden, (1877–1950), Swiss chemist
• Richard Abegg, (1869–1910), German chemist
• Frederick Abel, (1827–1902), English chemist
• Friedrich Accum, (1769–1838),German chemist, advances in the field of gas lighting
• Homer Burton Adkins, (1892–1949), American chemist, known for work in hydrogenation of organic compounds
• Peter Agre, (1949-), American chemist and doctor, 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Georgius Agricola, (1494–1555), German scholar known as "the father of mineralogy"
• Arthur Aikin, (1773–1855), English chemist and mineralogist
• Adrien Albert, (1907–1989), Australian Medicinal Chemist
• Kurt Alder, (1902–1958), German chemist, 1950 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Sidney Altman, (1939-), 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Christian B. Anfinsen, (1916–1995), 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Angelo Angeli, an Italian Chemist
• Anthony J. Arduengo, an American Chemist
• Johan August Arfwedson, (1792–1841), Swedish chemist
• Anton Eduard van Arkel, (1893–1976), Dutch chemist
• Svante Arrhenius, (1859–1927), Swedish chemist, one of the founders of physical chemistry
• Francis William Aston, (1877–1945), 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Amedeo Avogadro,(1776–1856), Italian chemist and physicist, discovered Avogadro Constant and Avogadro's law

B

• Stephen Moulton Babcock, (1843–1931), worked on the "single-grain experiment"
• Werner Emmanuel Bachmann, (1901–1951), American chemist, known for work in steroids and RDX
• Leo Baekeland, (1863–1944), Belgian-American chemist
• Adolf von Baeyer, (1835–1917), German chemist, 1905 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, synthesis of indigo
• Piero Baglioni, Italian Chemist
• Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, (1854–1907), Dutch chemist
• Allen J. Bard, (born 1933), 2008 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Neil Bartlett, (born 1932), English/Canadian/American chemist
• Sir Derek Barton, (1918–1998), 1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Fred Basolo, (1920–2007), American inorganic chemist
• Antoine Baum, (1728–1804), French chemist
• Karl Bayer, (1847–1904), Austrian chemist
• Johann Joachim Becher, (1635–1682), Developed the phlogiston theory of combustion
• Friedrich Konrad Beilstein, (1838–1906), German-Russian chemist, created Beilstein database
• Joseph Achille Le Bel, (1847–1930), French chemist, early work in sterochemistry
• Irina Beletskaya, (born 1933), Russian organometallic chemist
• Francesco Bellini (1947– ), research scientist, doctor in organic chemistry
• Paul Berg, (born 1926), 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Friedrich Bergius, (1884–1949), 1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Marcellin Berthelot, (1827–1907), French chemist, important work in thermochemistry
• Claude Louis Berthollet, (1748–1822), French chemist
• Jöns Jakob Berzelius, (1779–1848), Swedish chemist, coined the term "polymer" in 1833
• Johannes Martin Bijvoet, (1892–1980), Dutch chemist and crystallographer
• Joseph Black, (1728–1799), chemist
• Dale L. Boger, (born 1953), American organic and medicinal chemist
• Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, (1838–1912), French chemist
• Jan Boldingh, (1915–2003), Dutch chemist
• Alexander Borodin, (1833–1887), Russian chemist & composer
• Hans-Joachim Born, German radiochemist
• Carl Bosch, (1872–1940), German chemist
• Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, (1802–1887), French chemist, agricultural chemistry
• Paul D. Boyer, (born 1918), 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Robert Boyer, Employee of Henry Ford focus on soybean use.
• Robert Boyle, (1627–1691), English pioneer of modern chemistry
• Henri Braconnot, (1780–1855), French chemist and pharmacist
• Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted, (1879–1947), Danish chemist
• Herbert C. Brown, (1912–2004), 1979 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Eduard Buchner, (1860–1917), 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, (1811–1899), German inventor, chemist, discovered the elements caesium and rubidium with Gustav Kirchoff and invented the Bunsen burner
• Adolf Butenandt, (1903–1995), 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Aleksandr Butlerov, (1828–1886), Russian chemist, discovered the formose reaction

C

• Melvin Calvin, (1911–1997), American chemist, winner of 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Georg Ludwig Carius, (1829–1875), German chemist
• Heinrich Caro, (1834–1910), German chemist
• Wallace Carothers, (1896–1937), American chemist, known for the discovery of nylon
• Stanislao Cannizzaro, (1826–1910), Italian Chemist, postulated the Cannizzaro reaction
• Henry Cavendish, (1731–1810), British scientist
• Thomas Cech, (born 1947), 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Martin Chalfie, (born 1947), 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Yves Chauvin, (born 1930), 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Michel Eugėne Chevreul, (1786–1889), French chemist, designed an early form of soap, lived to be 102!
• Aaron Ciechanover, (born 1947), 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Giacomo Luigi Ciamician, Italian Chemist, Father of the Solar Panel
• Ernst Cohen, (1869–1944), Dutch chemist (murdered in Auschwitz)
• Elias James Corey, (born 1928), American organic chemist, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Robert Corey (1897–1971), American biochemist
• Carl Ferdinand Cori, (1896–1984), Czech biochemist, Nobel Prize in medicine 1947
• Gerty Cori, (1896–1957), American biochemist, Nobel Prize in medicine 1947
• Charles D. Coryell, (1912–1971), American chemist, co-discovered the element promethium
• John Cornforth, (born 1917), Australian winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Frank Albert Cotton, (1930–2007), 2000 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Charles Coulson (1910–1974), British theoretical chemist
• Archibald Scott Couper, (1831–1892), English chemist, further developed Tetravalence
• James Crafts, (1839–1917), American chemist, developer of Friedel-Crafts reaction
• Donald J. Cram, (1919–2001), American chemist, winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• William Crookes, (1832–1919), British chemist, discovered the element thallium
• Paul J. Crutzen, (1933), Dutch chemist, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Marie Curie, (1867–1934), Polish radiation physicist, 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics, 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Pierre Curie, (1859–1906), 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Robert Curl, (born 1933), American chemist, winner of 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Theodor Curtius, (1857–1928), German chemist

D

• John Dalton, (1766–1844), physicist and pioneer of the atomic theory
• Carl Peter Henrik Dam, (1895–1976), Danish biochemist, winner of the 1943 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Vincenzo, Count Dandolo, Italian Nobleman and Chemist
• Samuel J. Danishefsky, (born 1936), American organic chemist, natural product Total synthesis, 1995/6 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Humphry Davy, (1778–1829), British Chemist, discovered several alkaline earth metals
• Raymond Davis, Jr., (1914–2006), American physical chemist
• Peter Debye, (1884–1966), Dutch chemist, winner of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Johann Deisenhofer, (born 1943), 1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Sir James Dewar, (1842–1923)
• François Diederich, (born 1952), Luxembourg chemist
• Otto Diels, (1876–1954), German chemist, winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Edward Doisy, (1893– 1986), American biochemist, winner of the 1943 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Davorin Dolar, (1921–2005), chemist from Univ. of Ljubljana
• David Adriaan van Dorp, (1915–1995), Dutch chemist
• Herbert Henry Dow, (1866–1930), American industrial chemist, known for bromine extraction
• Cornelius Drebbel, (1572–1633), Dutch inventor, alchemist and chemist
• Carl Duisberg, (1861–1935), German chemist, early administrative industrial chemist
• Jean Baptiste Dumas, (1800–1884), French chemist, work on Atomic weights
• Charlotte Bondoc, (immortal), a beautiful chemist and her important works were about the fields of love.

E

• Paul Ehrlich, (1854–1915), German chemist, winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Arthur Eichengrün, (1867–1949)
• Manfred Eigen, (born 1927), German chemist, winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Mostafa El-Sayed, Egyptian-American physical chemist
• Fausto Elhuyar, (1755–1833), Spanish chemist, discoverer of tungsten
• Conrad Elvehjem, (1901–1962), American biochemist, discovered niacin
• Emil Erlenmeyer, (1825–1909), German chemist
• Richard R. Ernst, (born 1933), 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Gerhard Ertl, (born 1936), German physical chemist, 2007 Nobel prize in chemistry
• Hans von Euler-Chelpin, (1873–1964), Swedish chemist, winner of the 1929 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Henry Eyring, (1901–1981), Mexican-American theoretical chemist
• Mohammad Ezz, (1985) Egyptian chemist

F

• Kazimierz Fajans, (1887–1975), Polish-American physical chemist
• Michael Faraday (1791–1867), chemist and physicist, discovered Benzene
• Hermann von Fehling, (1812–1885), German chemist
• John Bennett Fenn, (born 1917), 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Enrico Fermi, (born 1901), Nuclear Chemist and Elementary Particle Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1938
• Hermann Emil Fischer (1852–1919), 1902 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, (actual name Hermann Emil Fischer, see below) not to be confused with:
• Franz Joseph Emil Fischer (1877–1947), German chemist, co-discovered the Fischer-Tropsch process
• Ernst Gottfried Fischer (1754–1831), German chemist
• Ernst Otto Fischer (1918–2007), German chemist, 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner
• Hans Fischer (1881–1945), German organic chemist, 1930 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner
• Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy,(1775–1809), co-discovered the element Iridium and developed modern chemical notation
• Nicolas Flamel, French alchemist
• Paul Flory, (1910–1985), 1974 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Edward Frankland,(1825–1899), English chemist, originated the concept of valence
• Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958), British Chemist and Crystallographer
• Herman Frasch, (1851–1914), German mining engineer and inventor, pioneered the Frasch process
• Carl Remigius Fresenius (1818–1897), German chemist
• Charles Friedel, (1832–1899), French chemist, developer of Friedel-Crafts reaction
• Alexander Naumovich Frumkin (1895–1976), electrochemist and chemist
• Kenichi Fukui, (1918–1998), 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

G

• Johan Gadolin, (1760–1852), Finnish chemist
• Merrill Garnett, (born 1930), American biochemist
• Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, (1778–1850), French chemist and physicist, discovered the Gay-Lussac law
• Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, (1816–1856), French chemist, synthesized acetylsalicylic acid
• William Giauque, (1895–1982), 1949 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839–1903), American engineer, chemist and physicist
• Walter Gilbert, (born 1932), 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Johann Rudolf Glauber, (1604–1670), Dutch-German alchemist and chemist
• Lawrence E. Glendenin, (1918–2008), American chemist, co-discovered the element promethium
• Leopold Gmelin, (1788–1853), German chemist, discovered potassium ferricyanide.
• Theodore Nicolas Gobley, (1811–1874), French chemist, pioneer in brain tissues analysis, discoverer of lecithin
• Victor Goldschmidt, (1888–1947) Father of Modern Geochemistry
• Moses Gomberg, (1866–1947), Russian-American chemist, known for pioneering work in radical chemistry
• David van Goorle also called Gorlaeus, (1591–1612), Dutch chemist, on of the first modern atomists
• Carl Gräbe, (1841–1927), German chemist, discovered the dye alizarin
• Thomas Graham, (1805–1869), Scottish chemist, dialysis and diffusion.
• Harry B. Gray, (born 1935), 2004 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Francois Auguste Victor Grignard, (1871–1935), 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry corecipient
• Robert H. Grubbs, (born 1942), 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

H

• Fritz Haber, (1868–1934) 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, father of the Haber process.
• Otto Hahn, (1879–1968) 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• John Scott Haldane,(1860–1936), British biochemist
• Charles Martin Hall, (1863–1914), American chemist, famous for Hall-Héroult process
• Arthur Harden, (1865–1940), English biochemist and winner of the shared Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929
• Odd Hassel, (1897–1981), Norwegian chemist 1969 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Charles Hatchett, (1765–1847), English chemist who discovered niobium
• Herbert A. Hauptman, (born 1917), 1985 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Robert Havemann, (1910–1982), chemist
• Walter Haworth, (1883–1950), 1937 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Clayton Heathcock, American Chemist
• Alan J. Heeger, (born 1936), 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Jan Baptist van Helmont,(1579–1644), The founder of pneumatic chemistry
• Dudley R. Herschbach, (1932-), American chemist, 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Avram Hershko, (born 1937), 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Charles Herty, American Chemist
• Gerhard Herzberg, (1904–1999), German-Canadian chemist, 1971 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Germain Henri Hess, (1802–1850), Swiss-born Russian chemist
• George de Hevesy, (1885–1966), Hungarian born chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry 1943
• Jaroslav Heyrovský, (1890–1967), Czech chemist, 1959 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, (1897–1967), English physical chemist and winner of the shared Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1956
• Dorothy Hodgkin, (1910–1994), 1964 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, (1852–1911), Dutch physical chemist, 1901 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Albert Hofmann, (1906–2008), Swiss chemist, synthesized Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
• August Wilhelm Hofmann, (1818–1892), German chemist, first to isolate sorbic acid
• Friedrich Hoffmann, (1660–1742), physician and chemist
• Roald Hoffmann, (born 1937), Polish-born American chemist, 1981 Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Frederick Gowland Hopkins, (1861–1947), British biochemist, known for discovery of vitamins, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929
• Heinrich Hubert Maria Josef Houben, (1875–1940) German organic chemist
• Coenraad Johannes van Houten, (1801–1887), Dutch chemist and chocolate maker, invented cocoa powder
• Amir H. Hoveyda, US-based chemist working in asymmetric catalysis
• Robert Huber, (born 1937), 1988 Nobel Prize in chemistry

I

• Sir Christopher Kelk Ingold (1893–1970), English chemist
• Vladimir Ipatieff, (1867–1952), Russian-American chemist, known for organic synthesis

J

• Paul Janssen (1926–2003), Belgian founder of Janssen Pharmaceutica.
• Frédéric Joliot-Curie (1900–1958), French chemist and physicist, 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Irène Joliot-Curie (1897–1956), French chemist and physicist, 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

K

• Henri B. Kagan, (born 1930), 2001 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Jerome Karle, (born 1918), 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Paul Karrer, (1889–1971), 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Karl Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner (1783–1857)
• August Kekulé, (1829–1896), German organic chemist
• John Kendrew, (1917–1997), 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Petrus Jacobus Kipp, (1808–1864), Dutch chemist, inventor of Kipp-generator
• Johan Kjeldahl, (1849–1900), Danish chemist, head chemist at Carlsberg Brewery, methods still in use
• Martin Heinrich Klaproth, (1743–1817), German chemist, discovered the element Uranium
• Trevor Kletz (born 1922) British promoter of industrial safety
• Aaron Klug, (born in 1926), winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Emil Knoevenagel, (1865–1921)
• William Standish Knowles, (born 1917), 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Walter Kohn, (born 1923), 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, (1818–1884), German chemist known for Kolbe nitrile synthesis
• Izaak Kolthoff, (1894–1993), Dutch-American chemist, the "Father of Analytical Chemistry"
• Roger D. Kornberg, (born 1947), 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Hans A. Krebs, (1900–1981), German biochemist, work on metabolic cycles
• Harold Kroto, (born 1939), English chemist, 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Richard Kuhn (1900–1967), 1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

L

• Irving Langmuir, (1881–1957), chemist, physicist, 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Auguste Laurent, (1807–1853), French chemist, discovered anthracene
• Paul Lauterbur, (1929–2007), American chemist
• Antoine Lavoisier, (1743–1794), French pioneer chemist
• Nicolas Leblanc, (1742–1806), French chemist and surgeon
• Henri Louis Le Chatelier, (1850–1936)
• Yuan T. Lee, (born 1936), winner of 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Jean-Marie Lehn, (born 1939), French chemist, shared 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Luis Federico Leloir, (1906–1987), Argentine biochemist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Raymond Lemieux, (1920–2000), 1999 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Gilbert Newton Lewis, (1875–1946), American chemist and first Dean of the Berkeley College of Chemistry
• Andreas Libavius, (1555–1616), German doctor and chemist
• Carl Theodore Liebermann, (1842–1914), German chemist, known for synthesis of alizarin
• Willard Libby (1908–1980), American chemist, winner of 1960 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Justus von Liebig, (1803–1873), German inventor and pioneer in agricultural and biological chemistry
• Karl Paul Link, (1901-1978), American biochemist, discovered the anticoagulant warfarin.
• William Lipscomb, (born 1919), 1976 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (1827–1912), English surgeon
• Arthur H. Livermore, (1915–2009), Science Educator and chemist
• Mikhail Lomonosov, (1711–1765), Russian scientist, anticipated the kinetic-molecular theory by 100 years
• H. Christopher Longuet-Higgins, British Chemist
• Martin Lowry, (1874–1936), British chemist
• Sima Lozanić (1847–1935), Serbian Chemist
• Ignacy Łukasiewicz, (1802–1882), Polish pharmacist

M

• Alan MacDiarmid, (1927–2007), 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Carolina Henriette Mac Gillavry, (1904–1993), Dutch chemist and crystallographer
• Roderick MacKinnon, (born 1956), 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Pierre Macquer, (1718–1784), influential French chemist
• Rudolph A. Marcus, (born 1923), 1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Jacob A. Marinsky, (1918–2005), American chemist, co-discovered the element promethium
• Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, (1817–1894), Swiss chemist, discovered ytterbium and co-discovered gadolinium.
• Vladimir Vasilevich Markovnikov, (1838–1904)
• Tobin J. Marks, (1944), American inorganic chemist and material scientist
• Alan G. Marshall, American chemist, co-inventor of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry
• Archer John Porter Martin, (1910–2002), 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Martinus van Marum, (1750–1837), Dutch chemist
• Elmer McCollum, (1879–1967), American Biochemist, known for work of diet on health
• Edwin McMillan, (1907–1991), 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Lise Meitner, (1878–1968), German physicist
• Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, (1834–1907), Russian chemist, creator of the Periodic table of elements
• John Mercer, (1791–1866), chemist and industrialist
• Robert Bruce Merrifield, (1921–2006), solid-phase chemist, 1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Julius Lothar Meyer, (1830–1895),German chemist, important work on The periodic table of elements; not to be confused with:
• Viktor Meyer, (1848–1897)
• August Michaelis (1847–1916), German chemist
• Hartmut Michel, (born 1948), 1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Stanley Miller (born 1930), American chemist, best known for the Miller-Urey experiment
• Luis E. Miramontes (1925–2004), co-inventor of the combined oral contraceptive pill
• Peter D. Mitchell, (1920–1992), 1978 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• William A. Mitchell, (1911–2004), key inventor behind Pop Rocks, Tang, and Kool Whip
• Eilhardt Mitscherlich, (1794–1863) German chemist, remembered for the law of isomorphism.
• Alexander Mitscherlich, (1836–1918), chemist
• Karl Friedrich Mohr, (1806–1879), German chemist famous for first musings on the Conservation of energy
• Henri Moissan, (1852–1907), French chemist and the winner of the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Mario J. Molina, (born 1943), 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Jacques Monod, (1910–1976), biochemist, winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965
• Peter Moore (born 1939), American biochemist, Sterling Professor of Chemistry at Yale University
• Stanford Moore, (1913–1982), 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley (1887–1915), English physicist, discovered Moseley's law
• Gerardus Johannes Mulder, (1802–1880), Dutch organic chemist
• Paul Müller, Swiss chemist, (1899-1965), discovered DDT, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1939
• Robert S. Mulliken, (1896–1986), American physicist, chemist, 1966 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Kary Mullis, (born 1944), 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Earl Muetterties, (1927–1984) American chemist

N

• Robert Nalbandyan, (1937–2002), Armenian protein chemist
• Giulio Natta, (1903–1979), Italian chemist, 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Costin Nenitescu, (1902–1970), Romanian chemist
• Antonio Neri, (1500s–1614), Florentine chemist and glassmaker
• Walther Nernst, (1864–1941), German chemist, 1920 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• John Alexander Reina Newlands, (1837–1898), English analytical chemist
• William Nicholson, (1753–1815), English chemist
• Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou, American chemist
• Julius Nieuwland, (1878-1936), American chemist, work on synthetic rubber leading to neoprene
• Alfred Nobel, (1833–1896), Swedish chemist
• Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, (1897–1978), 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• John Howard Northrop, (1891–1987), 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Ryōji Noyori, (born 1938), 2001 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Ralph Nuzzo, American chemist and materials scientists

O

• George Andrew Olah, (born 1927), 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Lars Onsager, (1903–1976), physical chemist, 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Joan Oró, (1923–2004), Catalan biochemist, one of his most important contributions was the prebiotic synthesis of the nucleobase adenine from hydrogen cyanide.
• Hans Christian Ørsted, First to isolate aluminum
• Wilhelm Ostwald, (1853–1932), 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

P

• Paracelsus, (1493–1541), alchemist
• Rudolph Pariser, (born 1923), theoretical and organic chemist
• Robert G. Parr, (born 1921), theoretical chemist
• Louis Pasteur, (1822–1895), French biochemist, father of pasteurization
• Linus Pauling, (1901–1994), Nobel Prizes in chemistry and peace
• Charles J. Pedersen, (1904–1989), 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Eugène-Melchior Péligot, (1811–1890) French chemist who isolated the uranium metal
• William Henry Perkin, (1838–1907) British organic chemist and inventor of mauveine (dye)
• William Henry Perkin, Jr., (1860–1929) British organic chemist, son of Sir William Henry Perkin
• Max Perutz, (1914–2002), 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• David Andrew Phoenix, (born 1966), Biochemist
• Roy J. Plunkett, (1910–1994), discoverer of Teflon
• John Charles Polanyi, (born 1929), Canadian chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986.
• John A. Pople, (1925–2004), theoretical chemist, 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• George Porter, (1920–2002), 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Fritz Pregl, (1869–1930), Slovene-German chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1923.
• Vladimir Prelog, (1906–1998), 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Joseph Priestley, (1733–1804), no formal training as a scientist, discovered the element oxygen
• Ilya Prigogine, (1917–2003), 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Joseph Louis Proust, (1754–1826), discovered the Law of definite proportions

R

• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, (born 1952), 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• William Ramsay, (1852–1916), Scottish chemist, 1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• François-Marie Raoult, (1830–1901), French chemist, known for Raoult's law
• Henry Rapoport, American chemist, UC Berkeley
• William Sage Rapson, South African Chemist and co-author of Gold Usage
• Julius Rebek, (1944), Hungarian_American chemist.
• Henri Victor Regnault (1810–1878), French chemist and physicist
• Tadeus Reichstein, (1897–1996), chemist, 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Rhazes (Razi), Iranian Chemist .(865–925)
• Stuart A. Rice, (born 1932), physical chemist
• Theodore William Richards, (1868–1928), 1914 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Wim Richter, South Africa
• Ellen Swallow Richards, (1842–1911), industrial and environmental chemist.
• Jeremias Benjamin Richter, (1762–1807), German chemist, first used the term stoichiometry
• Nikolaus Riehl, Germany (1901–1990)
• Andrés Manuel del Río, (1764–1849), Spanish-Mexican geochemist, discovered vanadium
• Robert Robinson (1886–1975), 1947 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Pierre Jean Robiquet (1780–1840), French chemist, discovered caffeine, alizarin, cantharidin
• Hillar Rootare (1928) Estonian-American Physical Chemist
• Irwin Rose, (born 1926), 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Guillaume-François Rouelle, (1703–1770), French chemist
• H. M. Rouell, (1718–1779), French chemist
• Frank Sherwood Rowland, (born 1927), 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Daniel Rutherford, (1749–1819), Scottish chemist
• Ernest Rutherford, (1871–1937), New Zealand born chemist and nuclear physicist. Discovered the Proton. Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1908
• Leopold Ruzicka (Lavoslav Ružička) , (1887–1976), 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

S

• Paul Sabatier, (1854–1941), 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry corecipient
• Frederick Sanger, (born 1918), 1958 and 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Carl Wilhelm Scheele, (1742–1786), Swedish 18th century chemist, discovered numerous elements
• Christian Friedrich Schönbein, (1799–1868), German-Swiss chemist, invented the fuel cell, and discovered gun cotton and ozone.
• Stuart L. Schreiber, (born 1956), American chemist, a pioneer in a field of chemical biology
• Richard R. Schrock, (born 1945), 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Peter Schultz, American chemist
• Glenn T. Seaborg, (1912–1999), 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Nils Gabriel Sefström, (1787–1845), chemist.
• Francesco Selmi, (1817–1881), Italian chemist.
• Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, (1896–1986), physicist and chemist, 1956 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• K. Barry Sharpless, (born 1941), 2001 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Patsy O. Sherman (born 1930), 12 US Patents
• Nevil Vincent Sidgwick, (1873–1952), English theoretical chemist, known for work in valency
• Osamu Shimomura, (born 1928), 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Hideki Shirakawa, (born 1936), 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Alexander Shulgin, (born 1925), Pioneer researcher in Psychopharmacology and Entheogens
• Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, (1897–1994), Pakistani chemist, pioneer in natural products chemistry
• Oktay Sinanoglu, (born 1935), Turkish chemist
• Jens Christian Skou, (born 1918), 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Richard Smalley, (1943–2005), 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Michael Smith, (1932–2000), 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Ascanio Sobrero, (1812–1888), Italian chemist, discoverer of nitroglycerin
• Frederick Soddy, (1877–1956), British chemist, 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Susan Solomon, American atmospheric chemist
• Ernest Solvay, (1838–1922), Belgian chemist and industrialist
• S.P.L. Sørensen, (1868–1939), Danish chemist
• Gabor A. Somorjai, (born 1935), 1998 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Georg Ernst Stahl, (1659–1734), Important work on fermentation
• Wendell Meredith Stanley, (1904–1971), 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Jean Servais Stas, (1813–1891), Belgian analytical chemist
• Branko Stanovnik, (born 1938), chemist.
• Hermann Staudinger, (1881–1965), polymer chemist, 1953 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Harry Steenbock, (1886–1967), American biochemist, work on ultra violet irradiation.
• William Howard Stein, (1911–1980), 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Thomas A. Steitz, (born 1940), 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Alfred Stock, (1876–1946), German inorganic chemist, known for work in mercury poisoning
• Fraser Stoddart, (born 1945), Scottish chemist, a pioneer in the field of the mechanical bond
• Gilbert Stork, (born 1921), 1995/6 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, (1829–1896), German organic chemist,principal founder of chemical structure
• James B. Sumner, (1887–1955), 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Edwin Sutermeister, American chemist, known for its work on papermaking
• Theodor Svedberg, (1884–1971), 1926 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Joseph Swan, (1828–1914), English physicist, chemist & inventor
• Frédéric Swarts, (1866–1940), Belgian chemist, prepared the first chlorofluorocarbon compound
• Richard Laurence Millington Synge, (1914–1994), 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

T

• Koichi Tanaka, (born 1959), 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Henry Taube, (1915–2005), 1983 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Margaret Thatcher, (born 1925), Prime Minister of United Kingdom
• Louis Jacques Thénard, (1777–1857), French chemist, discovered hydrogen peroxide and Thenard's Blue.
• J. J. Thomson, (1856–1940), British physicist, Known in chemistry for discovery of Isotopes
• Arne Tiselius, (1902–1971), 1948 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Max Tishler, (1906–1989), 1970 Priestley Medal
• Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, (1907–1997), 1957 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Evangelista Torricelli, Italian Physicist and Chemist who invented the Barometer, pupil of Galileo
• Roger Y. Tsien, (born 1952), 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Mikhail Tsvet, (1872–1919), Russian botanist, known for adsorption chromatography

U

• Georges Urbain, (1872–1938), French chemist, discovered the element Lutetium
• Harold Clayton Urey, (1893–1981), 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

V

• Lauri Vaska, (born 1925), Estonian/American chemist
• Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, (1763-1829), Discovered the elements Beryllium and Chromium
• Vincent du Vigneaud, (1901–1978), 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, (1895–1973), chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• Max Volmer, Germany (1885–1965)
• Alessandro Volta, (1745–1827), electrochemist, Invented the Voltaic Cell

W

• Johannes Diderik van der Waals, (1837–1923)
• Sir James Walker (1863–1935), Scottish physical chemist
• John E. Walker, (born 1941), 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Otto Wallach, (1847–1931), German chemist, 1910 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Alfred Werner, (1866–1919), Swiss chemist, 1913 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Thomas Summers West (1927–2010) British analytical chemist.
• Peter Jaffrey Wheatley (1921–1997)
• Chaim Weizmann, (1874–1952), Russian chemist, developed the ABE-process
• George M. Whitesides, (born 1939), American chemist
• Heinrich Otto Wieland (1877–1957) German chemist 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Julius Wilbrand - inventor of TNT
• Harvey W. Wiley, (1844–1930), US chemist, Pure food & drug advocate
• Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, (1921–1996), 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Alexander William Williamson, English chemist, famous for Williamson ether synthesis
• Thomas Willson, (1860–1915), Canadian chemist, discovered an economically efficient process for creating calcium carbide
• Richard Willstätter, (1872–1942), 1915 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, (1876–1959), 1928 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Günter Wirths, Germany
• Georg Wittig, 1897–1987), 1979 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Friedrich Wöhler, (1800–1882), German chemist, best known for his synthesis of urea.
• William Hyde Wollaston, (1766–1828), English chemist, discovered the element Palladium and the element Rhodium
• Robert B. Woodward (1917–1979), 1965 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Charles-Adolphe Wurtz, (1817–1884), Alsatian French chemist, discovered the Wurtz reaction
• Kurt Wüthrich, (born 1938), 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

X

• Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, (born 1962), chemist at Harvard University. A pioneer in the field of Single Molecule Microscopy and CARS (Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy) microscopy.

Y

• Ada Yonath, (born 1939), 2006/7 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Sabir Yunusov, (1909–1995), Soviet chemist (alkaloids)

Z

• Richard Zare, (born 1939), 2005 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Ahmed H. Zewail, (born 1946), Egyptian, 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry.
• Karl Ziegler, (1898–1973), 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, (1865–1929), 1925 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Chemists famous in other areas

• Marion Barry (born 1936), Masters in Organic Chemistry, American politician
• Jerry Buss (born 1934), PhD in Physical Chemistry, owner of the NBA LA Lakers and other sports franchises
• Emmanuel Dongala (born 1941), Congolese chemist and novelist
• Dolph Lundgren (born 1957), Masters in Chemistry, Swedish actor
• Primo Levi (1919–1987), resistance fighter, chemist and novelist
• Angela Merkel (born 1954), Doctorate in Quantum Chemistry, Chancellor of Germany 2005-
• Gaspard Monge (1746–1818), invented descriptive geometry
• Francis Muguet (1955–2009), advocate of open information access
• Edward Williams Morley (1838–1923), performed the Michelson-Morley experiment
• Knute Rockne (1888–1931), head football coach of Notre Dame
• Israel Shahak (1933–2001)
• Margaret Thatcher (born 1925), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979–1990), Research chemist at BX Plastics

See also

• List of biochemists
• List of Russian chemists