Robert Runnels Williams (February 16, 1886 – October 2, 1965) was an American chemist, known for being the first to chemically fully characterize and then synthesize thiamine (vitamin B1).
He was elected to both the American Philosophical Society and the United States National Academy of Sciences.
[3][4] His brother was Roger J. Williams, another important chemist at the time and discoverer of Vitamin B5.
After returning to the United States, he worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories from 1915, until he retired in 1945.
[5] A resident of Summit, New Jersey, Williams died there at the age of 79 on October 2, 1965.