Robert Sidney Cahn (9 June 1899 – 15 June 1981) was a British chemist, best known for his contributions to

chemical nomenclature Chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic name#In chemistry, systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Appli ...

and

stereochemistry Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, studies the spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereoisomers, which are defined ...

, particularly by the

Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules In organic chemistry, the Cahn–Ingold–Prelog (CIP) sequence rules (also the CIP priority convention; named after Robert Sidney Cahn, Christopher Kelk Ingold, and Vladimir Prelog) are a standard process to completely and unequivocally nam ...

, which he proposed in 1956 with

Christopher Kelk Ingold Sir Christopher Kelk Ingold (28 October 1893 – 8 December 1970) was a British chemist based in Leeds and London. His groundbreaking work in the 1920s and 1930s on reaction mechanisms and the electronic structure of organic compounds was resp ...

and Vladimir Prelog. Cahn was the first to report the structure of Cannabinol (CBN) found in

Cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

in the early 1930s. Cahn was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London. He became a fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry and was editor of the

Journal of the Chemical Society The ''Journal of the Chemical Society'' was a scientific journal established by the Chemical Society in 1849 as the ''Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society''. The first editor was Edmund Ronalds. The journal underwent several renamings, split ...

from 1949 until 1963, and he remained with the Society as Director of Publications Research until his retirement in 1965.

References

Bibliography

* and subsequent editions published in 1964, 1968, and 1974. British chemists 1899 births 1981 deaths Stereochemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry {{UK-chemist-stub