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Your support helps ensure the important stories of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences are captured, preserved, and shared.
With the help of the Science History Institute’s unique collections, we chronicle the powerful influence of science on our complicated and often strange world.
Our librarians and archivists are happy to provide research assistance and reference services.
The Science History Institute is a free museum and library that collects, preserves, interprets, and shares the stories behind the science.
In recognition of his theoretical work on the course of chemical reactions Hoffmann received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
A pioneer in nanotechnology, Hammond is Vice Provost for Faculty and Institute Professor at MIT, cofounder of MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology, and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
Science’s centuries-long hunt for a common language.
One of the 18th century’s most preeminent experimental scientists, Priestley is best remembered for discovering oxygen. He was also a conspicuous figure in the revolutionary politics of his day.
Berzelius is best remembered for his experiments that established the law of constant proportions.
In a polymer research lab at DuPont, Kwolek discovered the super fiber known as Kevlar.
One of the most recognizable figures in science, “Madame Curie” has captured the public imagination for more than 100 years and inspired generations of women scientists.
Through his important contributions to the theory of atomic weights, Cannizzaro guided his fellow chemists through a crucial time.
A biochemist who made lasting contributions to medicine, Daly was the first Black woman to receive a PhD in chemistry.
The Belgian-born chemist and entrepreneur Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic.
Kekulé famously “saw” carbon atoms joining in a “giddy dance” in a daydream. Couper invented a symbolic language to represent carbon linkage. Both made significant contributions to the field of structural chemistry.
‘Silent Spring,’ written by Carson and published in 1962, helped ignite the modern environmentalist movement.
As a postdoctoral researcher, Molina proposed that CFCs had the potential to destroy the earth’s protective ozone layer. He eventually received a Nobel Prize for his discovery.
The founder of the prestigious Nobel Prizes made his fortune with a big bang by inventing dynamite, a stabilized form of nitroglycerin.
A Nobel laureate in chemistry, Fischer was a prolific investigator of purines, proteins, sugars, and enzymes.
The Frees revolutionized diagnostic urine testing with their invention of a chemically coated paper dipstick.
The grandson of enslaved people, Julian overcame racial barriers to achieve scientific, business, and personal success.
In 1934 Beckman invented the first commercially successful electronic pH meter and then went on to found an international scientific instruments company.
Considered the father of modern chemistry, Lavoisier promoted the Chemical Revolution, naming oxygen and helping systematize chemical nomenclature.
‘Conversations on Chemistry,’ written in 1806 by Marcet, was intended for girls, but it also introduced chemistry to boys like Michael Faraday, whose formal education was very limited.
Through his inventive experimental work Rutherford made many new discoveries in both radioactivity and nuclear physics.
Brady was a leading science educator and the first African American to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the United States.
The Othmer Library is open to researchers by appointment only Monday–Friday, 10am–4pm.
Get to know the instrumentation pioneer who contributed to the intellectual and material developments that defined 20th-century science.
Our Center for Oral History conducts professional life interviews with scientists and engineers. We also offer training in interviewing techniques and best practices.
This joint award recognizes extraordinary accomplishments in chemistry or chemical engineering in the United States.