Charles J. Pedersen

Who is this?

Charles John Pedersen (Japanese: 安井 良男, Yasui Yoshio, October 3, 1904 – October 26, 1989) was an American organic chemist best known for discovering crown ethers and describing methods of synthesizing them during his entire 42-year career as a chemist for DuPont at DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware, and at DuPont's Jackson Laboratory in Deepwater, New Jersey. Often associated with Reed McNeil Izatt, Pedersen also shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987 with Donald J. Cram and Jean-Marie Lehn. He is one of three Nobel Prize laureates born in Korea, along with Peace Prize laureate Kim Dae-jung and Literature laureate Han Kang. Pedersen made many other discoveries in chemistry, such as discovering and developing metal deactivators. His early investigations also led to the development of a dramatically improved process for manufacturing tetraethyl lead, an important gasoline additive. He also contributed to the development of neoprene.

Career

1. 1904
   Born
2. 1987
   Won Nobel Prize in Chemistry
3. 1989
   Passed away
4. 1991
   Won Lavoisier Medal for Lifetime Technical Achievement

Trivia

• •Place of birth: Busan
• •Citizenship: United States, Japan
• •Known as: chemist, researcher