Kikunae Ikeda

Kikunae Ikeda

Japanese academic and flavor chemist (1864–1936)

Kikunae Ikeda (池田 菊苗, Ikeda Kikunae; 8 October 1864 – 3 May 1936) was a Japanese chemist and Tokyo Imperial University professor of chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical basis of a taste he named umami. It is one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, sour and salty.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Kikunae Ikeda (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Oct 8, 1864, died May 3, 1936.1

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedKaisei Junior & Senior High School3
  • Date not recordedUniversity of Tokyo3

Ikeda graduated in 1889 from Tokyo Imperial University in chemistry. In 1891, he became a professor at the Higher Normal School of Tokyo, in 1896 he became an associate professor at Tokyo Imperial University. From 1899, Prof. Ikeda studied in Germany for two years at the laboratory of Prof. Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald at the University of Leipzig, which was then the center of physical chemistry. After a brief stay in London, he returned to Tokyo in 1901 and became a full professor in chemistry at Tokyo Imperial University.

From Wikipedia’s article on Kikunae Ikeda (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: inventor, chemist, professor.6

  • Date not recordedWorked at Tokyo University of Education4
  • Date not recordedWorked at University of Tokyo4
  • Date not recordedFounded Ajinomoto5

Personal life

  • BornOct 8, 1864, Kyoto7
  • DiedMay 3, 1936, Tokyo8
  • CitizenshipJapan9

Awards

  • 1912Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class10
  • 1903Order of the Sacred Treasure, 6th class10

Sources

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