Auguste Laurent (14 November 1807 – 15 April 1853) was a French chemist who helped in the founding of organic chemistry with his discoveries of trichloroethylene, anthracene, phthalic acid, and carbolic acid.

He devised a systematic nomenclature for organic chemistry based on structural grouping of atoms within molecules to determine how the molecules combine in organic reactions.

Laurent thought that a weight of 12 was more logical, and started drawing structures on that basis.

He published his work in conjunction with Charles Frédéric Gerhardt.

Shunned by Dumas, he eked out a living teaching in the mineral engineering lab - where he taught a young Louis Pasteur how to crystalize tartaric acid.