Akira Ogata

Akira Ogata (緒方 章, Ogata Akira, October 26, 1887 in Osaka Prefecture, Japan – August 22, 1978) was a Japanese chemist and the first to synthesize methamphetamine in crystalline form in 1919. Ogata's synthesis of methamphetamine, from phosphorus and ephedrine, replaced much more complicated earlier syntheses, and continues to be used as the basis for modern production and usage of the drug.

In 1912, Ogata graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tokyo. In 1919 he received a degree from the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he had performed pharmacological experiments.

In 1920, he was appointed assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tokyo, where he taught until 1948.