Kekule von Stradonitz, August

Kekule von Stradonitz, (Friedrich) August

 orig. (Friedrich) August Kekule

(born Sept. 7, 1829, Darmstadt, Hesse—died July 13, 1896, Bonn) German chemist who laid the groundwork for modern structural theory in organic chemistry. His early training in architecture may have helped him conceive his theories. In 1858 he showed that carbon has a valence of four and that its atoms can link together to form long chains. He is said to have dreamed in 1865 of a benzene molecule as a snake biting its own tail and thus conceptualized the six-carbon benzene ring; the facts of organic chemistry known up to that time then fell into place. He also did valuable work on mercury compounds, unsaturated acids, and thio acids and wrote a four-volume textbook.