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Chances are, you’re not like me: you cringe when someone says the word “chemistry.” Your memory of it vaguely harkens back to an undergrad class whose knowledge you flushed once you finished the final. That’s okay — my goal for this series is to change that paradigm, make it understandable to all, and provide some entertainment.

Even though the nature of the organic molecule was very much in question as well as how to classify them (radicals, types, etc.), organic chemists were absolute beasts when it came to analysis. The specimen generally attributed as responsible for devising a systematic approach to analyzing organic molecules was Justus von Liebig.

(As you should know by now, I am Merikan, so my German is god awful. That being said, I like to imagine Justus is pronounced like “justice.” Don’t rob me of my dreams.)

In the pantheon of chemist legends (names like Dalton, Boyle, Lavoisier, etc.), Liebig is usually not mentioned, but absolutely deserves a place for two reasons. I make that statement from my own personal experience: I’ve been around the science of chemistry for the better part of 20 years, and prior to researching the history of it, I never heard this gentleman’s name. But before I get into why he’s worthy, I want to take a look at who he was, and maybe we’ll understand why this dude was such a (relatively unknown) beast.

Justus (1803–1873) was one of eight siblings and didn’t come from wealth. Luckily, two things favored him: he…