Silliman, Benjamin, 1779-1864, American chemist, geologist, and physicist, b. Trumbull, Conn., grad. Yale, 1796. In 1802 he was appointed first professor of chemistry and natural history at Yale; he traveled abroad and then returned to teach at Yale until 1853. He was noted as a teacher, as a popular lecturer on scientific subjects, and as a founder and editor (1818-46) of the American Journal of Science and Arts. He was the first president of the Association of American Geologists, which became (1848) the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a founding member of the National Academy of Sciences, and he helped to establish the medical school at Yale. His son, Benjamin Silliman, 1816-85, American chemist, b. New Haven, Conn., grad. Yale, 1837, was professor at Yale (1846-49) and then at the Univ. of Louisville (1849-54). In 1854 he returned to Yale, succeeding his father. The school of chemistry which he had established there (1847) later developed into the Sheffield Scientific School.

Silliman is a surname and may refer to:

• Aldine Silliman Kieffer (1840–1904), American musician
• Benjamin Silliman (1779–1864), American chemist
• Benjamin Silliman Jr. (1816–1885), American chemist
• Gold Selleck Silliman (1732–1790), American attorney and Revolutionary War figure
• Horace Brinsmade Silliman, founder of Silliman University
• Randolph Silliman Bourne (1886–1918), American writer
• Robert Hillyer a.k.a Robert Silliman Hillyer (1895–1961), American poet
• Ron Silliman (1946– ), American poet

Silliman may also refer to:

• Silliman University
• Silliman College
• USC&GS Silliman

See also

• Sillimanite