Albert Eschenmoser

Albert Eschenmoser
Born	(1925-08-05)5 August 1925 Erstfeld, Switzerland
Died	14 July 2023(2023-07-14) (aged 97)
Alma mater	ETH Zurich
Known for	Eschenmoser's salt Eschenmoser fragmentation Eschenmoser sulfide contraction Eschenmoser–Claisen rearrangement Synthesis of vitamin B12 (along with Woodward)
Awards	Ernest Guenther Award (1966) Marcel Benoist Prize (1972) Davy Medal (1978) Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1986)
Scientific career
Fields	Organic chemistry
Institutions	ETH Zurich
Thesis	Zur säurekatalysierten Zyklisierung bei Mono- und Sesquiterpenverbindungen  (1952)
Doctoral advisor	Lavoslav Ružička
Doctoral students	Scott E. Denmark Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker Andreas Pfaltz

Albert Jakob Eschenmoser (5 August 1925 – 14 July 2023) was a Swiss organic chemist, best known for his work on the synthesis of complex heterocyclic natural compounds, most notably vitamin B₁₂. In addition to his significant contributions to the field of organic synthesis, Eschenmoser pioneered work in the Origins of Life (OoL) field with work on the synthetic pathways of artificial nucleic acids. Before retiring in 2009, Eschenmoser held tenured teaching positions at the ETH Zurich and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California as well as visiting professorships at the University of Chicago, Cambridge University, and Harvard.