Editing Elias James Corey (section)

==Altom suicide==
{{Main|Jason Altom}}
[[Jason Altom]], one of Corey's students, committed suicide in 1998.<ref name=chronicle_suicide>{{cite news |last=Schneider |first=Alison |title=Harvard Faces the Aftermath of a Graduate Student's Suicide |work=The Chronicle of Higher Education |year=1998 |url=http://chronicle.com/article/Harvard-Faces-the-Aftermath-of/6469/ |access-date=August 21, 2010 }}</ref>  Altom's suicide caused controversy because he explicitly blamed Corey, his research advisor, for his suicide.<ref name= NYTAltom>{{cite news
  | last = Hall
  | first = Stephen S.
  | title = Lethal Chemistry at Harvard
  | work=The New York Times
  | date = November 29, 1998
  | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E5DB1F30F93AA15752C1A96E958260
  }}
</ref> Altom cited in his 1998 farewell note "abusive research supervisors" as one reason for taking his life. Altom's suicide note also contained explicit instructions on how to reform the relationship between students and their supervisors.

Altom was the third member of Corey's lab to commit suicide since 1980.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hall |first1=Stephen |title=Lethal Chemistry at Harvard |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/29/magazine/lethal-chemistry-at-harvard.html |access-date=September 26, 2020 |work=New York Times |date=December 29, 1998}}</ref> Corey was reportedly devastated and bewildered by his student's death.<ref name=Globe>English, Bella. {{cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/002/living/Grad_student_suicides_spur_big_charges_at_Harvard_chem_labs+.shtml |title=Grad-student suicides spur big changes at Harvard chem labs |access-date=November 24, 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010124052200/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/002/living/Grad_student_suicides_spur_big_charges_at_Harvard_chem_labs+.shtml |archive-date=January 24, 2001 }}, ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' via Archive.org (January 2, 2001).</ref> Corey said, "That letter doesn't make sense. At the end, Jason must have been delusional or irrational in the extreme." Corey also claimed he never questioned Altom's intellectual contributions. "I did my best to guide Jason as a mountain guide would to guide someone climbing a mountain. I did my best every step of the way," Corey states. "My conscience is clear. Everything Jason did came out of our partnership. We never had the slightest disagreement."<ref name=chronicle_suicide /> The [[American Foundation for Suicide Prevention]] (AFSP) cited ''[[The New York Times]]'' article on Altom's suicide as an example of problematic reporting, arguing that Altom presented warning signs of depression and suicidal ideation and that the article had scapegoated Corey despite a lack of secondary evidence that the advisor's behavior had contributed to Altom's distress.<ref>{{cite news
  | title = For the Media: Examples of Good and Problematic Reporting, Scapegoating, New York Times Magazine: Lethal Chemistry at Harvard
  | publisher = American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
  | year = 2010
  | url = https://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=92569BDA-A491-50C6-17ED3B1618AF3291
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060925213645/http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=92569BDA-A491-50C6-17ED3B1618AF3291
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = September 25, 2006
  | access-date = November 4, 2012}}
</ref><ref>The AFSP incorrectly identifies the author and date of ''The New York Times'' article as Keith B. Richburg and November 28, 1998.  The author was Stephen S. Hall and the date of publication was November 29, 1998.{{cite news
  | last = H
  | first = H
  | author2=M.A.
  | title = For the Media: Problematic Reporting, Scapegoating
  | publisher = American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
  | year = 2010
  | url = https://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=92569BDA-A491-50C6-17ED3B1618AF3291
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060925213645/http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=92569BDA-A491-50C6-17ED3B1618AF3291
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = September 25, 2006
  | access-date = August 21, 2010}}
</ref> According to ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', students and professors said Altom actually retained Corey's support.<ref name=Globe />