Famous Chemists in History Trivia Word Search

This German chemist formulated the third law of thermodynamics, concerning matter's behavior near absolute zero.

The cycle that breaks down nutrients to release usable energy inside cells is named for this German-British biochemist.

This Scottish chemist discovered carbon dioxide and magnesium, and first described the concept of latent heat.

This American chemist devised a systematic way to plan complex-molecule synthesis by working backward from the target.

This English chemist discovered the element thallium and built an early vacuum tube used to study cathode rays.

This American chemist invented the first fully synthetic fiber, best known today for stockings and parachutes.

A reaction that converts a carbonyl group into a carbon-carbon double bond is named for this German chemist.

The first-ever Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to this Dutch scientist for his work on reaction rates and osmotic pressure.

This Russian chemist arranged elements by weight into the first true periodic table, correctly predicting undiscovered ones.

_ _ _ _ _'s Law states that a gas's pressure rises as its volume shrinks, at constant temperature.

This French chemist devised an early industrial process for manufacturing soda ash from ordinary salt.

A common lab burner with an adjustable flame honors this German chemist, who also co-discovered caesium and rubidium.

This German chemist worked out how to synthesize the ancient blue dye indigo, winning the 1905 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

This American chemist's postulate helps predict what a reaction's fleeting transition state looks like, based on its energy.

This American chemist helped discover a soccer-ball-shaped 60-carbon molecule named for an architect famous for geodesic domes.

This American biochemist was among the first to isolate digestive enzymes in pure, crystalline form.

This English radiochemist coined the term for atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.

This Canadian-American chemist developed a theory predicting the rate at which electrons jump between molecules.

This Mexican chemist helped explain the chemical reactions responsible for the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.

This British scientist's sharp X-ray diffraction images were crucial evidence in uncovering DNA's double-helix shape.

Working independently of a more famous Russian rival, this German chemist devised his own early periodic table too.

This Czech chemist invented polarography, a technique for analyzing solutions using a dripping mercury electrode.

Nicknamed the father of mineralogy, this 16th-century German scholar wrote a landmark treatise on mining and metal-working.

His 1828 synthesis of urea from inorganic materials undercut the old belief that organic compounds needed a 'life force.'

This reclusive English scientist was first to isolate hydrogen gas, calling it 'inflammable air.'

This German-Baltic chemist's pioneering work on catalysis earned the 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

This Japanese chemist's theory predicts how molecules react, based on their highest-energy occupied electron orbitals.

This American physicist invented a coating process that produces glass so clear it appears almost invisible.

Catalysts developed by this German chemist and his Italian collaborator made low-pressure plastic manufacturing possible.

This American chemist's work on boron-containing organic compounds, organoboranes, earned the 1979 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

This French chemist designed cage-like molecules called cryptands that selectively trap other molecules or ions inside them.

This Scottish chemist invented the vacuum-insulated flask originally built to store liquefied gases.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _'s Law says equal gas volumes, at the same temperature and pressure, hold equal numbers of molecules.

Using X-ray crystallography, this British chemist determined the 3D structures of penicillin, vitamin B12, and insulin.

Also a celebrated composer, this Russian chemist discovered a reaction linking two carbonyl compounds into a larger one.

This English chemist introduced the idea that a molecule's 3D shape, not just its formula, governs its chemistry.

This Dutch scientist studied how a molecule's structure affects its electrical and dipole properties.

This Taiwanese-American chemist studied how molecules collide and react with one another at the level of individual particles.

This American chemist co-discovered plutonium and nine other elements heavier than uranium.

This English scientist proposed that all matter is built from tiny, indivisible particles, launching modern atomic theory.

This German chemist developed a high-pressure process for turning coal into liquid fuel.

This American biochemist showed that a protein's amino acid sequence alone determines how it folds into its final shape.

This Swedish pharmacist independently discovered oxygen and was first to isolate chlorine, among several other elements.

This American chemist developed molecular orbital theory, describing how atoms share electrons to form bonds.

This French chemist's studies of animal fats led to the discovery of fatty acids such as stearic and oleic acid.

This Norwegian chemist showed that a molecule's 3D shape, not just which atoms connect to which, affects its properties.

This American biochemist pioneered splicing DNA from different organisms together, the basis of genetic engineering.

This American scientist discovered the protein channels, aquaporins, that let water pass quickly through cell membranes.

This self-taught English scientist discovered the laws governing electrolysis and electromagnetic induction.

This American chemist developed radiocarbon dating, letting scientists estimate the age of ancient organic remains.

This American chemist explained the nature of the chemical bond and remains the only person with two unshared Nobel Prizes.

This Hungarian-American chemist found ways to study short-lived, positively charged carbon fragments called carbocations.

While trying to synthesize a malaria drug in 1856, this English teenager accidentally created the first synthetic dye instead.

This American scientist developed an early chemical method for reading off the sequence of letters in a strand of DNA.

This German chemist pioneered the idea of a targeted 'magic bullet' drug that attacks disease cells while sparing healthy ones.

Renowned for recreating complex natural molecules in the lab, this American chemist won the 1965 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

This Swedish chemist and engineer invented dynamite and left his fortune to fund the prizes awarded yearly in his name.

This Belgian industrialist developed a more efficient ammonia-based process for manufacturing soda ash, still used today.

This American chemist pioneered bioorthogonal chemistry, reactions gentle enough to run inside living cells and organisms.

This Swiss chemist's theory of how metal ions bond to surrounding molecules founded the field of coordination chemistry.

Called the father of modern chemistry, this Frenchman identified oxygen's role in combustion, toppling phlogiston theory.

This British biochemist was first to work out the complete sequence of a protein's building blocks, using insulin.

This American biochemist invented a technique for rapidly copying DNA stretches, now a staple of every genetics lab.

This Belgian-American chemist invented the first fully synthetic plastic, once marketed as 'the material of a thousand uses.'

This Austrian-American scientist developed a widely used method for predicting how electrons behave inside atoms and molecules.

This German chemist devised a way to combine nitrogen and hydrogen gas into ammonia, feeding billions via fertilizer.

This German chemist's studies of reactions occurring on solid metal surfaces earned the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

This German-American chemist invented a way to mine sulfur by pumping superheated water underground to melt it.

This American chemist developed catalysts that let chemists swap partners between two carbon-carbon double bonds.

This French chemist was first to isolate the highly reactive element fluorine, earning the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

This African-American chemist developed the first effective injectable leprosy treatment, dying at 24 before getting full credit.

Trained as a mathematician, he developed key methods for determining crystal structures directly from X-ray data.

This English chemist helped discover a hollow, soccer-ball-shaped molecule made of sixty carbon atoms.

A pioneer of agricultural and organic chemistry, this German scientist is often called the father of the fertilizer industry.

This Japanese chemist developed catalysts that produce one mirror-image form of a molecule instead of an equal mix of both.

This American biochemist discovered the enzyme that assembles new strands of DNA.

This Swedish chemist introduced the system of one- and two-letter symbols still used to represent chemical elements.

This American chemist designed 'host' molecules that selectively bind and hold onto specific 'guest' molecules.

This German-Canadian chemist used light spectra to study the structure of molecules and short-lived free radicals.

This Canadian-American scientist showed that RNA molecules can act as catalysts, not just carry genetic information.

This American biochemist explained the rotating motor that lets the enzyme ATP synthase generate the cell's energy currency.

This American chemist's studies of surfaces and thin films earned the 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Working without a doctorate, this American biochemist rationally designed drugs still used against leukemia and transplant rejection.

This Austrian-Swedish physicist supplied the theoretical explanation for the nuclear fission her former colleague had observed.

Le _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _'s principle predicts how a chemical system at equilibrium shifts to counteract a change in conditions.

This British biochemist helped establish that certain trace substances in food, later named vitamins, are essential for health.

This English clergyman-scientist is credited with isolating the gas we now call oxygen in 1774.

This French scientist separated mirror-image tartaric acid crystals and devised the heat treatment used to kill germs in milk.

This Scottish chemist discovered an entire family of unreactive gases, including argon, neon, krypton, and xenon.

This Polish-French scientist discovered radium and polonium, the only person awarded Nobel Prizes in two different sciences.

Using early electrolysis, this English chemist isolated several alkali metals, including sodium, potassium, and calcium.

This American chemist explained the unusual, electron-sharing chemical bonds found in boron-hydrogen compounds.

Often called the founder of physical chemistry, this Swede explained how acids and bases behave once dissolved in water.

This German chemist's 'lock and key' model explained how enzymes recognize the specific molecules they act on.

This German chemist's neutron-bombardment experiments first split uranium atoms, though he misjudged what he'd found.