First President of Israel, Chemist. He was a successful chemist and later a zealous Jewish politician, playing a significant role in the birth of the State of Israel. Born in 1874 in the rural hamlet of Motol in the Russian Empire, which is now in Belarus, he was the third of fifteen children in a poor Jewish household. After receiving a strict Jewish orthodox schooling as a child, he received his education in bio-chemistry studying chemistry at the Polytechnic Institute of Darmstadt in Germany and later in Switzerland for his doctorate in Philosophy in Organic Chemistry. After earning the Ph.D. magna cum laude in 1900, he taught chemistry at Geneva University while engaged in organic chemistry research. He sold his patents from his research to finance his younger siblings' education. Besides him, thirteen of his siblings received a college education. In 1905 he moved to England, to teach at the University of Manchester. At this point, he became active in political Zionism. In 1910 he became a British citizen. As a chemist, he became famous when he developed a synthetic acetone to be used in the manufacture of TNT explosives, which was critical during World War I for the Allied war effort. This brought him into close contact with British leaders, and enabled him to play a key role in the issue of the "Balfour Declaration" on November 2, 1917, wherein Britain committed itself to the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Appointed head of the Zionist Commission in 1918, he was sent to Palestine by the British government to advise on the future development of the country. Shortly after, he led the Zionist delegation to the Peace Conference at Versailles. In 1920 Weizmann became the president of the World Zionist Organization (WZO), traveling around the world in support of a Jewish homeland. He also headed the Jewish Agency, which was established in 1929. During the 1930s, he laid the foundation for the Daniel Sieff Research Institute in Rehovot, Israel. Later, the facility became known as the Weizmann Institute, a driving force behind Israel's scientific research. In 1937, he made his permanent home in Rehovot while maintaining residences in London and Paris. He again served as President of the WZO from 1935 to 1946. Prior to World War II, he invested greatly in the establishment of the Jewish Brigade under British auspices. He attempted unsuccessfully to prevent the issuing in 1939 of the White Paper, which virtually halted Jewish immigration to Palestine. This was done while Nazi Forces in Germany were organizing their antisemitic agenda. After the end of World War II, Weizmann lobbied significantly for the adoption of the United Nations Partition Plan on November 29, 1947, and later, the recognition of Israel by the United States. His personal relationship with President Harry S Truman facilitated the recognition. Upon the formation of the State of Israel, he was chosen to serve as the country's first President. As he aged, his general health declined and he was facing blindness. Weizmann served but one term, dying in office in 1952. At his request he was buried in the garden of his Rehovot house, which is located on the campus of the Weizmann Institute. He had a state funeral. While in Geneva, he married in 1900 a medical student, Vera Chatzman and the couple had two sons. During World War II, their younger son, Michael, served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force and was killed in action in 1942 at the age of 25. Their son Benjamin served in the Royal Air Force as an anti-aircraft gunner and suffered from severe PSTD, yet later became a dairy farmer with a family in Ireland. He was the author of a two-volume autobiography, "Trial and Errors." The first volume, which was completed in 1941, covers the years 1874 to 1917 and the second covers the years 1918 to 1948. He published "What is Zionism?" in 1918.