Leo Brewer (13 June 1919, St. Louis, Missouri – 22 February 2005, Lafayette, California) was an American physical chemist. Considered to be the founder of modern high-temperature chemistry, Brewer received his BS from the California Institute of Technology in 1940 and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1942. Brewer joined the Manhattan Project following his graduate work, and joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in 1946. Leo Brewer married Rose Sturgo (died 1989) in 1945. They had three children, Beth Gaydos, Roger Brewer, and Gail Brewer. He died in 2005 as a result of Beryllium poisoning from his work in World War II.