Hermann Irving Schlesinger

Hermann Irving Schlesinger (October 11, 1882 – October 3, 1960) was an American <a href="/facts/Inorganic_chemistry/ErD6ypnb">inorganic chemist</a>, working in <a href="/facts/Boron/Pmwgd7Mf">boron</a> chemistry.
He and <a href="/facts/Herbert_C._Brown/gzHbbzR3">Herbert C. Brown</a> discovered <a href="/facts/Sodium_borohydride/D2Hwts5x">sodium borohydride</a> in 1940 and both were involved in the further development of borohydride chemistry.
Schlesinger studied chemistry at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Chicago/z6zRMUmV">University of Chicago</a> from 1900 till 1905, where he received his Ph.D. for work with <a href="/facts/Julius_Stieglitz/psqozcpw">Julius Stieglitz</a>. In the following two years, he worked with <a href="/facts/Walther_Nernst/B2bYwpQp">Walther Nernst</a> at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Berlin/QE2lhhkd">University of Berlin</a>; with <a href="/facts/Johannes_Thiele_(chemist)/5upR3Kvg">Johannes Thiele</a> at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Strasbourg/PJ4Fvy8L">University of Strasbourg</a>; and with <a href="/facts/John_Jacob_Abel/m1QklFkV">John Jacob Abel</a> at <a href="/facts/Johns_Hopkins_University/56US0mHw">Johns Hopkins University</a>.
From 1907 to 1960, he taught in the department of chemistry at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Chicago/z6zRMUmV">University of Chicago</a>, rising through the ranks from instructor to full professor in 1922. He administered the department from 1922-1946, and retired in 1949.
Schlesinger was honored by membership in the National Academy of Sciences and received the <a href="/facts/Priestley_Medal/TFtIqexV">Priestley Medal</a>, the highest honor of the <a href="/facts/American_Chemical_Society/Alf3uhaF">American Chemical Society</a>.

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Hermann Irving Schlesinger