TY - JOUR A1 - Tron, Gian Cesare A1 - Minassi, Alberto A1 - Sorba, Giovanni A1 - Fausone, Mara A1 - Appendino, Giovanni T1 - Icilio Guareschi and his amazing “1897 reaction” JF - Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry PY - 2021/// VL - 17 SP - 1335 EP - 1351 SN - 1860-5397 DO - 10.3762/bjoc.17.93 PB - Beilstein-Institut JA - Beilstein J. Org. Chem. UR - https://doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.17.93 KW - Guareschi KW - history of chemistry KW - hydrocarbons KW - name reactions KW - pyridine N2 - Organic chemistry honors Icilio Guareschi (1847–1918) with three eponymic reactions, the best known ones being the Guareschi synthesis of pyridones and the Guareschi–Lustgarten reaction. A third Guareschi reaction, the so-called “Guareschi 1897 reaction”, is one of the most unusual reactions in organic chemistry, involving the radical-mediated paradoxical aerobic generation of hydrocarbons in near-neutral water solution. A discussion of the mechanism of this amazing reaction, the only metal-free process that generates hydrocarbons, and the implications of the approach in biology and geosciences mirrors the multifaceted scientific personality of the discoverer. Thus, Guareschi’s eclectic range of activities spans a surprising variety of topics, overcoming the boundaries of the traditional partition of chemistry into organic, inorganic, and analytical branches and systematically crosses the divide between pure and applied science as well as between the history of chemistry and the personal contributions to its development. ER -