Viktor Meyer (08 September 1848 – 08 August 1897) was a hugely gifted chemist. He became one of the most important chemists of his time. He made many contributions to organic and inorganic chemistry. He created a device to accurately determine vapor densities of inorganic substances at high temperatures, called the Viktor Meyer apparatus. He also discovered thiophen, a heterocyclic compound, while investigating the vapor density of benzene. He had an extremely attractive personality, and he was a brilliant lecturer. He attracted many students from Europe and North America. He was born in Germany, grew up in Germany, and lived his life in Germany. He was the second son of Jacques and Bertha Meyer. The elder Meyer, a prosperous Jewish merchant in calico printing and dyeing, wanted his sons to become chemists, but Victor's foremost desire was to be an actor. He married Hedwig Davidson in 1873. They had five daughters. He was a workaholic whose taxing lifestyle took tolls on his nervous system. He lived a tortured life as his health declined during the 1880's. He suffered several breakdowns, brought on from over work, physical, and mental exhaustion. He was so frequently ill that he resorted to drugs in order to sleep. He became conscious that his long suffering was affecting his thinking and suddenly in the summer of 1897, suffering from continuous neuralgic pains, his nervous system shattered, he ended his life by taking cyanide, at the age of 49. There were more than 300 papers that Meyer published. His grave may be found in the Bergfriedhof of Heidelberg.

Honors:

* Davy Medal by the Royal Society - 1891

Books Published:

* Tabellen zur qualitativen Analyse - 1884 co-authored with Frederick Treadwell
* Pyrochemische Untersuchungen - 1885
* Die Thiophengruppe - 1888
* Chemische Probleme der Gegenwart - 1890
* Ergebnisse und Ziele der Stereochemischen Forschung - 1890
* Lehrbuch der organischen Chemie - 1893 co-authored with Paul Jacobson
* Märztage im kanarischen Archipel, ein Ferienausflug nach Teneriffa und Las Palmas - 1893 This book is a travel guide.∼German chemist.