Virgil Boekelheide
Virgil Boekelheide (July 28, 1919 – September 24, 2003) was an American organic chemist and a long-time professor at the University of Oregon. He is best known for his work on aromatic compounds, especially cyclophanes, and for the Boekelheide reaction named after him. He also helped synthesize a sixfold-bridged cyclophane called superphane, which has unique internal interactions.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Dakota Wesleyan University in 1939 and his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1943, studying under C. Frederick Koelsch. After three years as an instructor at the University of Illinois, he became a professor at the University of Rochester in 1946. He moved to the University of Oregon in 1960 and retired in 1984.
His awards include the Guggenheim Fellowship (1953) and the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1962. He began his research on alkaloids and later focused on aromaticity and cyclophanes.
Beyond science, Boekelheide supported the arts in Eugene, serving as president of the Eugene Ballet Society from 1988 to 1991. He and his wife had three children, and one of his notable students was Victor Snieckus.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:12 (CET).