Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why is the Cannizzaro reaction named for Stanislao Cannizzaro?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
The Cannizzaro reaction is named after the Italian chemist Stanislao Cannizzaro because he discovered the chemical process in 1853.1
During his research on aromatic compounds, Cannizzaro observed that when benzaldehyde is treated with a concentrated base, it undergoes a reaction in which one molecule is reduced to benzyl alcohol while another is oxidized to the salt of benzoic acid. This specific transformation is now universally recognized in chemistry as the Cannizzaro reaction.12