William B. Jensen

William Barry Jensen (March 25, 1948 – November 2, 2024) was an American chemist and chemical historian.

In 2013, Jensen wrote Memoirs of an Amateur Chemist: Growing up a Science Nerd in the 1960s, an autobiography detailing his earliest memories, such as receiving his first chemistry kit, collecting pieces of glassware, and winning science fairs.

These memoirs were published electronically by the Oesper Collections in 2024 and can be found here: https://hdl.handle.net/2374.UC/768605 Jensen studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, taking a bachelor's degree in 1970, a master's degree in 1972 and a doctorate in inorganic chemistry in 1982.

Chymists: That strange class of mortals: Caricatures of famous chemists with a few physicists and biologists added, can be found here: https://hdl.handle.net/2374.UC/768601 In 1982, an influential article by Jensen appeared in the Journal of Chemical Education, suggesting that group 3 in the periodic table should contain lutetium and lawrencium instead of lanthanum and actinium.

[6] Jensen's books published by the Oesper Collections can be found here: https://hdl.handle.net/2374.UC/768600 and include books on the origins of the chemistry community in Cincinnati, OH, titles previously mentioned, and his beloved history of chemistry textbook, Philosophers of Fire.