Dr. Anton Vilsmeier (12 June 1894 – 12 February 1962) was a German chemist who together with Albrecht Haack discovered the Vilsmeier-Haack reaction.

Early life

Anton Vilsmeier was born to the mill owner, Wolfgang Vilsmeier, and his wife, Philomena, in Burgweinting, Oberpfalz. He attended the '' Volksschule'' and the '' Altes Gymnasium'' in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the 11th Bavarian Infantry Regiment, and became a British prisoner following the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

, returning to Germany in November 1919. From 1920, he studied chemistry at the University of Munich, and from 1922 at the University of Erlangen, where he continued as an assistant after his studies.

Career

Vilsmeier discovered the aldehyde synthesis reaction which bears his name in 1926, and it was published in 1927, the year that he began to work for

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

. He retired in 1959, and died in 1962 in Ludwigshafen.

References

* 1894 births 1962 deaths 20th-century German chemists Scientists from Regensburg Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg German Army personnel of World War I German prisoners of war in World War I World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom {{Germany-chemist-stub