Question

why benzene is called aromatic compound ?

Answer 1

bcoz it follows the Huckel rule!!!

Answer 2

Well, originally, because it stinks. As do many of its related compounds, like napthalene (the smell of mothballs) and anthracene (the smell of fresh asphalt). Later on, organic chemists used the adjective "aromatic" to refer to a strong resemblance of a molecule to benzene, in having the typical six-membered ring with apparently alternating single and double bonds, which gives the molecule a very characteristic pattern of chemical reactivity. Later still, physical organic chemists found out why that particular bonding pattern gives rise to that particular pattern of chemical reactivity, and extended the definition of "aromatic" to a certain kind of molecular electronic structure.