Filip Neriusz Walter

Filip Neriusz Walter or Philippe Walter (31 May 1810 – 9 April 1847) was a Polish chemist and pioneer of organic chemistry who worked in Paris. He extracted and characterized several compounds, including toluene and octene.

Life At 15 years old, Walter was one of the youngest students of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, where he studied history and chemistry in 1825–28. Subsequently, he studied at Berlin University, receiving a Ph.D. with his dissertation On Combination of Oxalic Acid and Alkali. Simultaneously he served as assistant to Professor Eilhard Mitscherlich.

On the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising, he went to Warsaw and joined the Polish Army. He served as adjutant to Colonel Samuel Różycki, commander of the 7th infantry regiment. His achievements won him recognition from the French Academy. In sum, he isolated and studied 24 new chemical compounds, including toluene, biphenyl, nitrotoluene, cedrene, potassium hydroxide dihydrate, chromyl chloride, cumene, benzyl chloride, benzyl bromide, and menthene.

In 1847 he was decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honour.