Frank Henry Westheimer personal archive

Frank Henry Westheimer (1912-2007), chemist, taught at Harvard University from 1953 to 1983. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, then earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from Harvard University in 1933 and 1935, where he worked under James Bryant Conant and E.P. Kohler. Westheimer taught at the University of Chicago from 1936 to 1954, then returned to Harvard, where he taught from 1953 to 1983; he served as Chairman of the chemistry department at Harvard from 1959 to 1962 and became the Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry in 1960. The Westheimer medal was established in his honor in 2002 and is awarded by Harvard University "for distinguished research into the field of chemistry.” He was a member of President Lyndon Johnson's Science Advisory Committee from 1967 to 1970, and he chaired the National Academy of Sciences Committee for the Survey of Chemistry from 1964 to 1965, where he generated the “Westheimer Report,” which suggested that the federal government increase its spending on fundamental chemistry research. In addition to his scientific work, Westheimer was politically active, particularly involved with anti-war efforts and environmental issues. Westheimer died on April 14, 2007.