The AOCS Lipid Library

The History of Lipid Science & Technology

Many great scientists have illuminated the science of lipids over the years, in the areas of organic chemistry, biochemistry, physical chemistry, technology and analysis, amongst others. Those of us accustomed to the techniques of lipidomics and molecular biology would be hard pressed if we had to go back to the days when only a balance and basic spectroscopy instruments were the only equipment available. This makes the achievements of those who paved the way for us all the more remarkable. Here we illuminate briefly the pioneers in both basic lipid research and the applied research in the oils and fats industry. We also present articles on related topics that represent milestones in the development of our subject.

The Scientists

• Alton E. Bailey (1907-1953) (by Gary List)
• The History of the Bailey Award (by Gary List)
• Michel Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) (by Gary List) - updated Jan. 21^st, 2010
• Herbert Dutton (1914-2006) (by Gary List)
• Thomas Percy Hilditch (1886-1965) (by Frank Gunstone)
• George S. Jamieson (1879-1959) (by Gary List) - Feb. 8^th, 2010
• Percy Lavon Julian (1899-1975)
• Hans Paul Kaufmann (1889-1971) (by Gerhard Knothe)
• Hippolyte Mège (1817-1880) (by Gary List)
• Virgil C. Mehlenbacher (1901-1992) (by Gary List)
• Wilhelm Normann (1870-1939) (by Gerhard Knothe)
• Ralph H. Potts (1900-1981) (by Gary List)
• David Wesson (1861-1934) (by Gary List)
• Harvey W. Wiley (1844-1930) (by Gary List)

Scientific Milestones

• Arthur von Hübl and the Iodine Value (by Gerhard Knothe)
• Historical Perspectives on Vegetable Oil-Based Diesel Fuels (by Gerhard Knothe)
• The Battle over Hydrogenation (1903-1920) (by Gary List and M.A. Jackson) - Feb. 3^rd, 2010
• The Lipid Library - The First Ten Years (1999-2009) (by Bill Christie)
• Links to other relevant online historical/biographical articles

We welcome further suggestion for inclusion in this list, and we would also be grateful for good-quality photographs to better illustrate these articles.

Many of these articles were published originally in the series ‘Giants of the Past’ in Inform, and we are grateful to the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) for permission to reproduce them here.

	Gary R. List is the Associate Editor for these webpages Formerly of - National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, ARS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL, USA
Updated: Feb. 8th, 2010	Credits/disclaimer		© AOCS