ABOUT THE LANDMARKS PROGRAM

About the
Landmarks Program

The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, has declared nearly 40 places, discoveries, and achievements historic chemical landmarks.

The process begins at the local level. ACS members identify milestones in their cities or regions, document their importance, and nominate them for landmark designation. An international committee of chemists, chemical engineers, museum curators, and science and technology historians evaluates each nomination and approves those meriting landmark status. For more information, e-mail us at: nhclp@acs.org.

Following is a list of landmarks designated to date, starting with the first and ending with the most recent:

Online Brochure Available

1993
Bakelite

1994
Chandler Chemistry Laboratory
Pennsylvania home of Joseph Priestley

1995
Atomic weight of oxygen
Chemicals from coal
First nylon plant
Riverside Laboratory

1996
Acrylonitrile production process
Houdry process for gasoline production
Kem-Tone® paint
Williams-Miles History of Chemistry Collection

1997
Aluminum production process
Bromine production process
Gilman Hall
Radiation chemistry commercialized

1998
Calcium carbide and acetylene production process
Fluid bed reactor for gasoline production
Havemeyer Hall
Raman Effect
Synthetic rubber
Tagamet® development process

1999
Penicillin
Physostigmine synthesized
Progesterone synthesis and Mexican steroid industry
Polymer science of Hermann Staudinger
Polypropylene and high-density polyethylene
Rare earth elements
Work of Antoine Lavoisier

2000
Bowood House, site of Joseph Priestley's discovery of oxygen
Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection
Helium in natural gas
Organic free radicals
Polymer science
Protein and nucleic acid chemistry at Rockefeller University
Transcurium elements at E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

2001
Savannah Pulp and Paper Laboratory founded by Charles Herty
National Institute of Standards and Technology, (NIST)
The Commercialization of Aluminum
John W. Draper and the Founding of the American Chemical Society

2002
Norbert Rillieux and a Revolution in Sugar Processing
Albert Szent-Györgyi and the Discovery of Vitamin C
Noyes Laboratory: One Hundred Years of Chemistry
Alice Hamilton and the Development of Occupational Medicine
Quality and Stability of Frozen Foods

2003
The Discovery of Camptothecin and Taxol®
The Polymer Research Institute
The Development of High Performance Carbon Fibers

2004
The Beckman pH Meter
Evolution of Durable Press and Flame Retardant Cotton.
Carl and Gerty Cori and Carbohydrate Metabolism.

2005
George Washington Carver: Chemist, Teacher, Symbol
Selman Waksman and Antibiotics.
The Development of the Columbia Dry Cell.

2006
Neil Bartlett and Reactive Noble Gases
Rumford Baking Powder
The Development of Tide^®

2007
Food Dehydration Technology
Chemical Abstracts Service