| Emanuele Paternò di Sessa | |
| Birth Date: | 12 December 1847 |
| Birth Place: | Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies |
| Nationality: | italian |
| Death Place: | Palermo |
| Field: | Chemistry, Politics |
| Work Institution: | University of Palermo, University of Torino, University of Rome, University of Marburg |
| Alma Mater: | University of Palermo |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Stanislao Cannizzaro |
| Known For: | Paternò–Büchi reaction |
Emanuele Paternò, 9th Marquess of Sessa was an Italian chemist and politician and is credited with the discovery of the Paternò–Büchi reaction.
He was born in Palermo in 1847 as the Marquess of Sessa, in a branch of the House of Paternò. He studied at the University of Palermo with Stanislao Cannizzaro.
In 1871 he became a lecturer at the University of Torino, but returned to Palermo the following year as Cannizzaro's successor.In 1892 he became a professor at the University of Rome. His main area of research was photochemistry, and discovered the Paternò–Büchi reaction in 1909.[1] The reaction was improved by George Büchi, its other namesake, in 1954.[2]
Paternò was politically active. He served as the Mayor of Palermo (1890–1892), and in 1890 he was appointed by King Victor Emmanuel III a member of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy. He was later elected vice president (1904-1919) of the Italian upper house.