Lewis Hastings Sarett was an American organic chemist. He was born in Champaign, Illinois on December 22, 1917. He received a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1939 and his doctorate from Princeton University. He was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1980, the same year he was awarded the IRI Medal from the Industrial Research Institute for his contributions to technology leadership. He worked for Merck & Co. for 38 years retiring in 1982. He invented a Process of Treating Pregnene Compounds Cortisone, Patent Number 2,462,133. He received the National Medal Of Science in 1975.