Resumen de S. M. Tanatar and His Contribution to the Field of Thermal Rearrangements
Thermal rearrangements constitute an important chapter in organic chemistry. Surprisingly, the name of its discoverer remains unknown. The present article is meant to remedy this situation by describing some of the work of the 19th century Russian chemist S. M. Tanatar (1849 - 1917) who, based on the thermochemical data provided by Berthelot, envisaged the possibility of transforming cyclopropane into propene under the influence of heat alone. At the time this was a very bold assumption, not shared by anyone in the chemical community. Tanatar's experimental results confirming his hypothesis were immediately challenged; but he found the courage to persevere and finally triumphed against tremendous odds.
