Hermann Staudinger was a German chemist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize in Chemistry’ in 1953 for his modern concept of polymers, which he demonstrated as covalently bonded macromolecular or giant molecular structures. He as well as J. Fritschi suggested the concept in the early 1920s but met with initial resistance. The term ‘macromolecule’ (macro + molecule) was coined by him. He began to examine polymers while conducting his research on the synthesis of isoprene, monomer of natural rubber, for the German chemical company ‘BASF’. Staudinger as well as other researchers displayed that polymers are long-chain molecules that are created out of chemical interaction of small molecules and not by physical aggregation, as was perceived at that time. He demonstrated that synthesis of these chain like molecules could be attained by applying different procedures and that their identity could be retained even after being subjected to chemical alterations. This pioneering work of Staudinger not only led to the theoretical foundation of polymer chemistry but also paved way for development of modern plastics, thus greatly contributing to the development of the plastics industry. This research also contributed to the advancement of molecular biology that dealt with comprehending the structure of proteins as well as other macromolecules present in living things. He is also noted for his discovery of the organic compound called ketenes and the ‘Staudinger reduction’ or the ‘Staudinger reaction’.