Carl Schorlemmer FRS (30 September 1834 – 27 June 1892) was a German chemist who did research on hydrocarbons and contributed to the study of the history of chemistry.

[3] His sociological analysis of the history of chemistry had a significant influence on Engels and Marx's views on the development of natural sciences.

[4][5] At Schorlemmer's death, Engels published an obituary[6] in Vorwärts, the central organ of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Towards the end of his life, Schorlemmer began to write a book about the history of chemistry from antiquity to the 17th century.

He died before finishing his work, so it was never published, the manuscript covers about 1,100 pages and is stored in John Rylands Library.