Stanislao Cannizzaro

Cannizzaro, Stanislao (1826–1910), Italian chemist, teacher, and activist in Garibaldi's movement for Italian unification. Cannizzaro found that benzaldehyde treated with a concentrated alcoholic hydroxide produced equal amounts of benzyl alcohol and the salt of benzoic acid. This became known as the Cannizzaro reaction. In 1858 he differentiated between atomic and molecular weights, a discovery that won him the Copley medal from the Royal Society of London.

See also: Chemistry.