Louis Fieser
| Louis Frederick Fieser | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
April 7, 1899 Columbus, Ohio |
| Died | July 25, 1977 (aged 78) Belmont, Massachusetts |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions |
University of Oxford Harvard University |
| Alma mater |
Williams College Frankfurt University Harvard University |
| Doctoral advisor | James Bryant Conant |
| Doctoral students |
Donald J. Cram William Summer Johnson Alfred Bader |
| Other notable students | Donald J. Cram |
| Known for | Synthesis of vitamin K Quinone Cortisone |
Louis Frederick Fieser (April 7, 1899 – July 25, 1977) was an American organic chemist, professor, and in 1968, professor emeritus at Harvard University. He is renowned as the inventor of military effective napalm whilst he worked at Harvard in 1943. His award-winning research included work on blood-clotting agents including the first synthesis of vitamin K, synthesis and screening of quinones as antimalarial drugs, work with steroids leading to the synthesis of cortisone, and study of the nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Fieser was born in Columbus, Ohio, obtained his BA in chemistry in 1920 from Williams College, and his PhD under James Bryant Conant at Harvard in 1924. His graduate research concerned the measurement of oxidation potentials in quinone oxidation. in 1924-1925 Fieser worked at the University of Oxford with W.H. Perkin Jr. and with Julius von Braun at the Frankfurt University as a postdoc. Between 1925 and 1930 he worked at Bryn Mawr College where he met his future wife. He then moved to Harvard University.
With his research assistant and wife Mary Peters Fieser (MA, 1936, Radcliffe) he coauthored eight books and the first seven volumes of the classic series Reagents for Organic Synthesis known popularly among chemists as "Fieser and Fieser". He was also an editor and contributor for Organic Syntheses.
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