August Kekulé
He proposed the ring structure of benzene, a crucial breakthrough in organic chemistry.
Quotes by August Kekulé
The chemist's laboratory is a place of wonder.
The understanding of molecular structure is key to understanding chemical reactions.
The development of new synthetic methods is vital for organic chemistry.
The impact of chemistry on society is profound.
I was sitting, writing at my textbook, but the work did not progress; my thoughts were elsewhere. I turned my chair to the fire and dozed. Again the atoms were juggling before my eyes. This time the smaller groups kept modestly in the background. My mental eye, rendered more acute by repeated visions of this kind, could now distinguish larger structures of manifold conformation: long rows, sometimes more closely fitted together; all twining and twisting in snake-like motion. But look! What was that? One of the snakes had seized hold of its own tail, and the form whirled mockingly before my eyes. As if by a flash of lightning I awoke; and this time I also spent the rest of the night in working out the consequences of the hypothesis.
If we are to make progress, we must not be afraid to make mistakes.
The chemist must be a poet, not only in his dreams, but also in his actions.
The atoms are not things, but symbols of things.
It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.
The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it.
One must not only be able to dream, but also to wake up and verify the dream.
The chemical formula is a language, and like all languages, it can be used to express truth or falsehood.
To understand chemistry, one must think like an atom.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.
Chemistry is not just about substances, but about their transformations.
The structure of benzene is a problem for the gods, not for chemists.
My benzene dream was not a dream, but a vision.
The more complex the molecule, the more beautiful its structure.
A good chemist is like a good detective; he must observe, deduce, and then prove.