This reaction is very complex but extremely useful because it allows us to turn a carbonyl group of aldehydes or ketones, regioselectively, into a double C=C bond.
Georg Wittig (1897-1987): Discovered in 1949 his versatile pathway to alkenes from ilydes. He received his first education in Tübingen, was director of the Organic Chemistry Department at Heidelberg, where he was distinguished professor from 1967 to the end of his professional career. In 1967 he won the Otto Han Prize and in 1979 shared the Nobel Prize with Herbert C. Brown.
