Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz
Kekule von Stradonitz, Friedrich August (1829-1896), a German chemist. In 1858 he helped clarify the newly formulated valence theory by diagramming the way atoms unite. In 1865 he stated his theory of the ring structure of benzene molecules, a fundamental theory of modern organic chemistry.
Kekule attended the University of Giessen, receiving a doctorate in 1852. After teaching at the universities of Heidelberg and Ghent, he accepted a professorship at Bonn Univesity in 1867, where he remained until his death.