Yü-Gwan Chen

author

Yü-Gwan Chen

b. 1893

Educated in both China and the United States, this early 20th-century scholar moved from chemistry into university leadership and became a key figure at the University of Nanking. His surviving work and records show a life shaped by science, education, and cross-cultural exchange.

1 Audiobook

Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and its derivatives Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Pure Science of Columbia University

Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and its derivatives Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Pure Science of Columbia University

by Yü-Gwan Chen

About the author

Born in Zhejiang in 1893, Yü-Gwan Chen studied at the University of Nanking and graduated in 1915. After further study in Chinese classics, he went to the United States in 1916, continued his chemistry studies at the Case School of Applied Science, and later earned a PhD from Columbia University.

His best-known published work is the 1922 dissertation Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and Its Derivatives, which reflects his early training as a chemist. Later records identify him as president of the University of Nanking, showing how his career expanded from laboratory research into academic leadership.

Chen's story is especially interesting because it connects several worlds at once: modern science, Chinese higher education, and international study during a period of major change. Even in the limited records that survive online, he comes across as a scholar-administrator who helped shape university life in Republican-era China.