Fred Warren McLafferty (May 11, 1923 − December 26, 2021) obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry at Cornell in 1950 and, after post-doctoral work at the University of Iowa, began his pioneering work in mass spectrometry with the Dow Chemical Company. He returned to Cornell in 1968 as a member of the faculty. Fred’s numerous contributions to the field of chemistry include the development of the first Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) with Roland Gohlke, the description of a complex chemical rearrangement now known as the “McLafferty Rearrangement”, the characterization of large protein macromolecules by mass spectrometry, and the co-authoring and editing of over 500 articles, five books, and a widely-adopted registry of mass spectral data. A true lion of chemistry, Fred revolutionized the field and inspired scholarship for peers and students alike (Ref).
