The story
In 1958, Leopold Horner published a modified Wittig reaction using phosphonate-stabilized carbanions. William S. Wadsworth and William D. Emmons further defined the reaction.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction
Today it means: A chemical reaction used in organic chemistry of stabilized phosphonate carbanions with aldehydes (or ketones) to produce predominantly E-alkenes. Full definition →