Famous Polish Chemists

Born in a small Polish village, Ignacy Mościcki grew up to become a chemist, an academic, and a researcher, before he stepped into politics. He later served Poland as its longest-serving president. Initially a supporter of Polish dictator Józef Piłsudski, he became more liberal after Piłsudski’s death.

Known for his pioneering contribution to the make-up industry in Hollywood and for his revolutionary products such as Supreme Greasepaint, Max Factor Sr. was a Polish Jew, who moved to the US in the early 1900s. He founded his own brand of cosmetics, popularized the word “make-up,” and won an honorary Academy Award.

Leo Sternbach is remembered for his revolutionary discovery of tranquillizers, including Valium and Librium. Born to a pharmacist father, he first studied pharmacy and then organic chemistry. He had a life-long association with Hoffmann-La Roche and ended up with 241 patents and over 100 scientific publications.

Jerzy Buzek is a Polish politician who served as the Prime Minister of Poland from 31 October 1997 to 19 October 2001. An influential politician, Buzek also served as the President of the European Parliament from 14 July 2009 to 17 January 2012. In 1998 and 2009, political weekly Wprost named Jerzy Buzek Person of the Year for his achievements.

Alexander Imich was a Polish-American parapsychologist, chemist, writer, and zoologist. A supercentenarian, Imich was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest man in the world. He enjoyed this privilege for around 1.5 months before passing away on June 8, 2014, at the age of 111. Sakari Momoi of Japan succeeded Alexander Imich as the world's oldest man. 

Swiss chemist Tadeusz Reichstein is remembered for his Nobel Prize-winning research on the hormones of the adrenal cortex. He also taught pharmaceutical chemistry and organic chemistry at the University of Basel and independently discovered the synthesis of vitamin C. At 99, he was the oldest-living Nobel laureate until his death.

Antoni Grabowski was a Polish activist and chemical engineer. A well-known and respected figure in the field of chemical engineering, Grabowski is remembered for a multitude of technological innovations and inventions. Antoni Grabowski also played a significant role in the development of Esperanto, the most widely spoken international auxiliary language.