Emanuele Paternò

Emanuele Paternò, IX Marquess of Sessa was an Italian chemist, discoverer of the Paternò–Büchi reaction.

Emanuele Paternò di Sessa
Emanuele Paternò
Born(1847-12-12)December 12, 1847
Palermo
DiedJanuary 17, 1935(1935-01-17) (aged 87)
Palermo
Nationalityitalian
Alma materUniversity of Palermo
Known forPaternò–Büchi reaction
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry, Politics
InstitutionsUniversity of Palermo,
University of Torino,
University of Rome,
University of Marburg
Doctoral advisorStanislao Cannizzaro

Biography

He was born in Palermo in 1847 as the Marquess of Sessa, in a branch of the House of Paternò, and studied at the University of Palermo with Stanislao Cannizzaro.

Scientific career

In 1871 he became lecturer at the University of Torino, but returned to Palermo in the following year as Cannizzaro's successor. In 1892 he became a professor at the University of Rome. His main area of research was photochemistry, and discovered the Paternò–Büchi reaction in 1909.[1] The reaction was improved by George Büchi, its other namesake, in 1954.[2]

Political career

He was politically active. He was the Mayor of Palermo (1890–1892), and in 1890 he was appointed by King Victor Emmanuel III a member of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy and was elected vice president (1904-1919) of the Italian upper house.

References
  1. E. Paterno; G. Chieffi (1909). Gazz. Chim. Ital. 39: 341.
  2. G. Büchi; Charles G. Inman; E. S. Lipinsky (1954). "Light-catalyzed Organic Reactions. I. The Reaction of Carbonyl Compounds with 2-Methyl-2-butene in the Presence of Ultraviolet Light". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 76 (17): 4327–4331. doi:10.1021/ja01646a024.


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