19th Century

Born: Wolfisheim (Alsace), 1817 
Died: Paris (France), 1884

Wurtz embarked on medical studies, but studied chemistry under Liebig (Giessen). In Paris he gained professorial status (1853). He was the first professor of organic chemistry at the Sorbonne (1875). Wurtz was the first important chemist in France to support the structural views of Laurent. In 1855 he discovered the still called "Wurtz-reaction". He prepared many different substances.