MEYER, VICTOR

MEYER, VICTOR (1848–1897), German organic chemist. Meyer, the son of a Berlin textile printer, obtained his doctorate at Heidelberg magna cum laude before he was 19. He worked with Bunsen at Heidelberg and Baeyer in Berlin, and in 1872, despite his youth, was appointed professor of general chemistry at the Zurich Polytechnic. He was professor at Goettingen University from 1885 to 1889 and at Heidelberg from 1889 until his death. Meyer invented the term "stereo-chemistry" and made basic contributions in the field of organic compounds. As well as being one of the foremost organic chemists of his generation and an outstanding lecturer and speaker, he was an accomplished musician, but he was dogged by ill-health and committed suicide. Meyer's biography was written by his brother, RICHARD EMIL MEYER (1846–1926), who was also an organic chemist of distinction. He held professorships at the Technische Hochschule of Braunschweig and at Heidelberg and was editor of the Jahrbuch der Chemie from 1891 to 1918. (Samuel Aaron Miller)