Accounts of Chemical Research recently published some additions and corrections to their article “Named Reactions Discovered and Developed by Women.” They were informed of another reaction unambiguously named for a woman – the Catellani reaction. Prof. Marta Catellani of the University of Parma reported the reaction (a coupling of an aryl iodide, an alkene and two equivalents of an alkyl iodide) in 1997.
Additionally in the 1950s, Marjorie Traxler, an undergraduate at Northwestern, published a transition structure which explained the stereochemistry of the Ivanov reaction with Prof. Howard Zimmerman. This structure is now known as the Zimmerman-Traxler transition structure and albeit not a full reaction, it is an important piece of chemistry named for a woman.
If you haven’t had a chance, the original article is a great look at some amazing women chemists!