Hugo Müller

Hugo Müller (29 July 1833 – 23 May 1915) was an Anglo-German analytical chemist, botanist and industrialist. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is known for being the first person to synthesize hexachlorobenzene.

Early life Hugo Müller was born on 29 July 1833, in Tirschenreuth, Germany. He studied chemistry at Leipzig University. He was a student of Friedrich Wöhler at the University of Göttingen, where he earned his PhD. Around the same time, Hermann Kolbe had independently discovered a similar reaction, transforming acetic acid into malonic acid—a process Müller had also investigated.

Müller became a consultant for De La Rue company before leaving academic research to pursue an industrial career. After retiring, he continued his research at the Davy-Faraday Laboratory. His work extended to horticulture. Studying the species of Primula, he discovered that their bloom is related the presence of flavone.

Personal life and death Müller married Elizabeth Russell in 1878, who survived him and died in 1931. They had two daughters. Müller was naturalized as a British citizen after marriage.

His work on horticulture led him to develop a vast garden in his home at Camberley, Surrey, England.

Hugo Müller died on 23 May 1915 at his home.

Since his school days Müller had collected mineral specimens, which his widow Elisabeth presented to the Oxford University Museum Of Natural History in 1915.

Honors and awards Müller was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society on 7 June 1866. He was their treasurer but resigned from the society when World War I started, due to personal convictions.

He joined the Chemical Society in 1859, becoming its foreign secretary from 1869 to 1885 and president of the society from 1885 to 1887. He was also a member of the Royal Horticultural Society.