Centenaries of the First Solvay Chemistry Conference and the death of Ernest Solvay

Abstract

2022 marks the centennial of the first Solvay Chemistry Conference, which took place from 21 to 27 April 1922 at the Solvay International Institute of Chemistry in Brussels. Its founder, Ernest Solvay, died a month later. In this work, which highlights the two anniversaries, the biography of this well-known Belgian industrialist is summarized, with special emphasis on his extensive relationship with chemistry educators and institutions, and refers to the aforementioned conference, explaining why it was held later than the first physics ones and what it represented for the advance of science.