This essay is dedicated to the life, scholarly works, and academic and organizational activities of Academician Vladimir Nikolaevich Ipatieff (1867–1952), one of the most prominent chemists of the first half of the 20th century, founder of contemporary heterogeneous catalysis in organic chemistry, a remarkable experimenter and organizer of industrial production, and creator of a large school of sciences. As a General-Lieutenant of the Russian army and chairman of the Military Chemistry Committee, he made an invaluable contribution to the development of military chemistry in Russia during the First World War. In the 1920s, he took active part in the creation of chemical industry in the country. Arrests of his colleagues and general political situation in Russia forced Ipatieff to leave the country in 1930 — temporarily, as he believed. However, in 1936 he was deprived of Soviet citizenship and excluded from the USSR Academy of Sciences. Ipatieff successfully continued his academic and teaching activities in the USA. His works in the area of obtaining high-quality aviation gasoline and other researches contributed to the victory over a common enemy.