Erik Christian Clemmensen

Erik Christian Clemmensen (* 1876 in Odense, † May 21, 1941 ) was a Danish- American chemist.

Clemmensen studied at the Polytechnic University in Copenhagen. He emigrated to the USA in 1900 and was active in the pharmaceutical industry (Parke, Davis and Co. ). There he discovered in 1913, named after him Clemmensen reduction. For the discovery of his University of Copenhagen recognized to doctoral degrees. In 1914 he was one of the founders of the Commonwealth Chemical Corporation, which in 1923 merged with the Mathiesen Alkali Works and adopted after a fire in 1929 by Monsanto. Clemmensen worked there about organic phosphates and phosphorothioates. In 1933 he founded the Clemmensen Chemical Corporation.