Anselme Payen

Anselme Payen (January 6, 1795 - May 12, 1871) was a French chemist. He was born in Paris, where his father started to give him scientific lessons at the age of 13. He studied then partly at the École Polytechnique with the best chemists. At the age of 20 he became manager of the family borax-refining factory, where he developed a process for synthesizing borax from soda and boric acid. He also invented new processes for refining sugar, a decolorimeter, a way to refine starch and alcohol from potatoes, and a method for determination of nitrogen.

Payen became especially famous for the discovery of the first enzyme, diastase, in 1833; also for his works on cellulose.

In 1835, he gave up with business and became professor at École Centrale Paris. He was later elected professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. He died in 1871.

The American Chemical Society's Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division has established an annual award in his honor, the Anselme Payen Award.