Chaim Weizmann

Born 27 November 1874, Weizmann built his reputation as a biochemist, pioneering the acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation process that became the foundation of industrial fermentation. When World War I created desperate need for cordite explosives, his acetone method proved vital to British munitions, earning him access to the corridors of power. He leveraged that capital to secure the Balfour Declaration in 1917, then spent three decades leading the Zionist Organization through mandate and war. He convinced Washington to recognize the new Israeli state in 1948, was elected its first president on 16 February 1949, and founded the Sieff Research Institute in Rehovot and helped establish Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He died in office on 9 November 1952, having shaped a nation in the lab and at the negotiating table.