A German industrial chemist and engineer, best known for his contribution to the Haber-Bosch process for high-pressure synthesis of ammonia.

Bosch studied at the University of Leipzig and obtained his doctorate in 1898 for research in organic chemistry. His interest in science was extremely broad and he also studied engineering and obtained hands-on experience in a workshop.

In 1899 Bosch started work for the powerful German chemical company BASF. In 1908 BASF acquired the process of high-pressure synthesis of ammonia which had been developed by Fritz Haber. Bosch was given the important task of developing this process on an industrial scale. He was successful and the Haber-Bosch process became the main industrial procedure for synthesising ammonia.

After the First World War Bosch worked on the synthesis of petrol and methanol via high-pressure chemistry. He was appointed managing director of BASF in 1919 and in 1925 co-founded IG-Farben, an industrial giant created by the merger of various German chemical companies. In 1935 he became chairman of their board of directors.