Lewis Hastings Sarett
American organic chemist (1917–1999)
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Lewis Hastings Sarett (December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American organic chemist. While serving as a research scientist at Merck & Co., Inc., he synthesized cortisone.
Pamela Thorp
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) |
Biography
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, graduating in the honors society Phi Beta Kappa and got a 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.
Honors and awards
- 1964 Scheele Award
- 1972 Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists[3]
- 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
