Abstract
In 1986, George Pimentel, then the president of the American Chemical Society, had an idea to better educate the public about the crucial role of chemistry in everyday life: Introduce a National Chemistry Day. “His overall vision was for an educated and enlightened citizenry,” says Jeanne Pimentel, George’s widow. “Unless people understood things like science, they wouldn’t have the judgment to vote for the right things in politics.” But as George Pimentel quickly discovered, not everyone at ACS shared his vision. Some argued that the outreach initiative would take resources away from established programs. Others wondered whether the increased attention toward chemistry, which had a negative reputation, would bring bad rather than good publicity to the society. “He had a terrible time getting it through the ACS and the powers that be,” Jeanne Pimentel recalls of George’s efforts to get National Chemistry Day approved by the ACS Board. Nevertheless, George
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