Fritz Haber

Fritz Haber
Fritz Haber, c. 1919
Born	(1868-12-09)9 December 1868 Breslau, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia[1]
Died	29 January 1934(1934-01-29) (aged 65) Basel, Switzerland
Nationality	German[2][3]
Alma mater	Heidelberg University Humboldt University of Berlin Technical University of Berlin
Known for	Surface chemistry Haber process Haber's rule Haber–Weiss reaction Born–Haber cycle Chemical warfare Explosives Fertilizers
Spouses	Clara Immerwahr ​ ​ (m. 1901; died 1915)​ Charlotte Nathan ​ ​ (m. 1917; div. 1927)​
Children	3
Awards	Iron Cross (1915) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1918) Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (1932) Rumford Medal (1932)
Scientific career
Fields	Physical chemistry
Institutions	Swiss Federal Institute of Technology University of Karlsruhe

Fritz Haber (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁɪt͡s ˈhaːbɐ] ^ⓘ; 9 December 1868 – 29 January 1934) was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his invention of the Haber–Bosch process, a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas. This invention is important for the large-scale synthesis of fertilizers and explosives.^[4] It is estimated that a third of annual global food production uses ammonia from the Haber–Bosch process, and that this supports nearly half the world's population.^[5][6] For this work, Haber has been called one of the most important scientists and industrial chemists in human history.^[7][8][9] Haber also, along with Max Born, proposed the Born–Haber cycle as a method for evaluating the lattice energy of an ionic solid.

Haber, a known German nationalist, is also considered the "father of chemical warfare" for his years of pioneering work developing and weaponizing chlorine and other poisonous gases during World War I. He first proposed the use of the heavier-than-air chlorine gas as a weapon to break the trench deadlock during the Second Battle of Ypres. His work was later used, without his direct involvement,^[10] to develop Zyklon B, used for the extermination of more than 1 million Jews in gas chambers in the greater context of the Holocaust.

After the Nazis' rise to power in 1933, Haber resigned from his position. Already in poor health, he spent time in various countries before Chaim Weizmann invited him to become the director of the Sieff Research Institute (now the Weizmann Institute) in Rehovot, Mandatory Palestine. He accepted the offer but died of heart failure mid-journey in a Basel hotel on 29 January 1934, aged 65.