Fritz Strassmann - Definition and Overview

Fritz Strassman (February 22, 1902 - April 22, 1980) was a German physical chemist who, along with Otto Hahn, discovered the nuclear fission of uranium in 1938.

Born Boppard, he earned a Ph.D. from the Technical University of Hannover in 1928. His expertise in analytical chemistry was employed by Hahn and Lise Meitner in their investigation of the products of the bombardment of uranium with neutrons.

He subsequently worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and, from 1945 to 1953, its successor, the Max Planck Institute of Chemistry. In 1946 he became professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Mainz.

He died in Mainz.