Ralph E. Oesper

Ralph Edward Oesper
Oesper in the 1908 University of Cincinnati yearbook
Born	June 14, 1886 Cincinnati, Ohio U.S.
Died	December 10, 1977(1977-12-10) (aged 91) Cincinnati, Ohio
Occupation	Science historian
Spouse	Helen Wilson Oesper
Children	Peter Oesper
Awards	Dexter Award
Academic background
Education	Ph.D.
Alma mater	University of Cincinnati
Thesis	Some New Hydroxyurethanes and Chromoisomeric Silver Salts of their Acyl Derivatives (1914)
Doctoral advisor	Lauder William Jones
Academic work
Discipline	History of Science Analytical chemistry
Institutions	University of Cincinnati
Notable works	The Human Side of Scientists (book) New analytical reagents

Ralph Edward Oesper (14 June 1886 – 10 December 1977) was an American chemist and historian of chemistry. He is noted for his biographies of scientists, emphasizing their personal lives in addition to their scientific contributions. Oesper translated significant works in the field of chemistry to various languages especially English. As an independent investigator, he developed improved analytical methods. These contributions included new reagents for certain types of titrations. One such new reagent, Oesper's Salt, is named for him.^[1]