Professor Basil Charles Leicester Weedon CBE, FRS (18 July 1923 – 10 October 2003) was an organic chemist and university administrator.

Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, he was the first to map the structures of carotenoid pigments, including astaxanthin, rubixanthin and canthaxanthin.

He remained at Imperial College, studying for a PhD before taking a job with ICI working on dyes in Blackley, Manchester.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Weedon's research group elucidated the structures of and synthesised a wide range of naturally occurring carotenoids.

These included, canthaxanthin (responsible for the pink colour of flamingos), astaxanthin (responsible for the colour of lobsters), capsanthin and capsorubin (found in red peppers), renieratene (from Japanese sea sponges) and fucoxanthin (the most abundant carotenoid found in seaweed).