August Wilhelm von Hofmann

The Hofmann rearrangement is a reaction in which a primary amide is converted to a primary amine with the loss of one carbon atom, typically using bromine and base. Named after August Wilhelm von Hofmann, it remains a fundamental named reaction in organic synthesis.

August Wilhelm von Hofmann was central to the development of the synthetic dye industry through his research on aniline, a compound derived from coal tar. His student William Henry Perkin synthesized mauveine, the first synthetic aniline dye, in 1856 while working under Hofmann at the Royal College of Chemistry in London.

The Hofmann elimination is a reaction in which a quaternary ammonium salt is converted to an alkene through treatment with a strong base. Unlike most elimination reactions that follow Zaitsev's rule, the Hofmann elimination typically produces the less substituted alkene as the major product.

Hofmann directed the Royal College of Chemistry in London from 1845 to 1865 before returning to Germany to teach at the University of Berlin. He had studied under Justus von Liebig, one of the founding figures of modern organic chemistry, at the University of Giessen.