Lewis Hastings Sarett
Lewis Hastings Sarett | |
---|---|
Born | December 22, 1917 |
Died | November 29, 1999 | (aged 81)
Occupation | Organic chemist |
Spouse(s) | Mary Adams Barrie (m. March 1, 1944 - div.June 28, 1969) Pamela Thorp |
Children | Mary Nicole and Katharine Wendy (1st wife) Will H. and Renee M. (2nd wife) |
Lewis Hastings Sarett (December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American organic chemist. While serving as a research scientist at Merck & Co., Inc., synthesized cortisone.
Biography
[edit]He was born in Champaign, Illinois. His father was Lew Sarett, a renowned Jewish poet and professor[1] and an uncle of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.[2] He lived in Laona, Wisconsin, for a time and then attended high school in Highland Park, Illinois . He received a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1939 (Phi Beta Kappa) and his doctorate from Princeton University.
He worked for Merck & Co. for 38 years retiring in 1982. He invented a Process of Treating Pregnene Compounds Cortisone, Patent Number 2,462,133.
Named after him is the Sarett Oxidation which is the oxidation of an alcohol to a ketone or an aldehyde using chromic oxide and pyridine. Primary alcohols will be oxidised to aldehydes and not carboxylic acids.
Writing career
[edit]His father, also Lew Sarett, is famous for writing the poem The Four Little Foxes to raise awareness about animal rights.[3]
Honors and awards
[edit]- 1964 Scheele Award
- 1972 Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists[4]
- 1975 National Medal of Science
- 1976 Perkin Medal
- 1980 Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
- 1980 Awarded the IRI Medal from the Industrial Research Institute for his contributions to technology leadership
- 1981 American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal
References
[edit]- ^ "Archives".
- ^ "Donald Rumsfeld on Rumsfeld's Rules | Milt Rosenberg".
- ^ "Four Little Foxes By Lew Sarrett: An Animal Rights Poem from All-Creatures.org". www.all-creatures.org. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ "Chemical Pioneer Award". American Institute of Chemists. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
External links
[edit]- Arthur A. Patchett, "Lewis Hastings Sarett", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2002)
- Inventors hall of fame
- December 22 - Today in Science History - Scientists born on December 22nd, died, and events
- New York Times Obituary, December 27, 1999.