Acetone fermentation
Who
Chaim Weizmann, a Jewish chemist and Zionist leader who later became the first President of Israel.
When
c. 1916
Where
Manchester, England
During World War I, chemist Chaim Weizmann developed a bacterial fermentation process to produce acetone, a solvent needed to make explosives, when other supplies ran short. Weizmann was a leader of the Zionist movement and, decades later, became the first President of the State of Israel; his work is also a foundation of industrial biotechnology.
Sources
Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.