Lee Irvin Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lee Irvin Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 22, 1891 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Died | March 29, 1973 (aged 81) Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Organic chemistry, synthetic chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Minnesota |
| Doctoral advisor | Elmer Peter Kohler |
| Doctoral students | Lucile Hac |
Lee Irvin Smith (July 22, 1891 – March 29, 1973) was an American organic chemist who spent his research career on the faculty at the University of Minnesota, where he served as chief of the chemistry department's organic chemistry division.[1][2][3]
Smith was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1891, the oldest of three sons. He was raised mostly in Columbus, Ohio, where the family moved when Smith was a child. His father was a piano maker and Smith learned to play from a young age. Smith attended Ohio State University and developed an interest in chemistry after a course taught by William Lloyd Evans.[1] Smith received his bachelor's degree in 1913 and remained at Ohio State for a master's degree received in 1915.[2] He then moved to Harvard University, where he studied organic chemistry under the supervision of Elmer Peter Kohler. He received a second master's degree from Harvard in 1917 and his PhD in 1920.[1][2] His graduate work was interrupted by World War I, during which he served as a second lieutenant and worked on a wartime project with Kohler and others on Lewisite from late 1917 to the end of the conflict in 1918.[1][2]
