 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
 |
 |
Biography of Tadeus ReichsteinName: Tadeus ReichsteinBirth Date: July 20, 1897 Death Date: August 1, 1996 Place of Birth: Wloclawek, Poland Nationality: Polish Gender: Male Occupations: organic chemist Tadeus Reichstein The Polish organic chemist Tadeus Reichstein (1897-1996) shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex.The son of Isidor Reichstein, an engineer, Tadeus Reichstein was born in Wloclawek, Poland, on July 20, 1897. In 1914, shortly after his family moved to Zurich, he became a naturalized Swiss citizen. He began the study of chemistry at the State Technical College at Zurich in 1916, qualified in 1920, and in 1922 graduated as a doctor of philosophy in chemistry. For some years thereafter he investigated the cause of the flavor of coffee. In 1929 he became lecturer in organic and pharmaceutical chemistry at the Zurich Technical College, where in 1934 he was appointed titular professor, and in 1937 associate professor, of organic chemistry. In 1933 he synthesized ascorbic acid, independently of (Sir) Norman Haworth and by a different process.In 1938 Reichstein was appointed professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, and in 1946 also of organic …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…been hard at work for 45 years and the time had come to slow down. He stepped down from his post at the University of Basel, but had no intention of being completely idle. He continued to work in his laboratory until 1987, when his ninetieth year began. Then, his name appeared in print just once more before he died in 1996. Along with 62 other Nobel laureates in 1992, he signed an appeal to the worlds' governments to end the fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Further Reading There was a biography of Reichstein in Nobel Lectures, Physiology or Medicine, 1942-1962 (1964), which also included his Nobel Lecture, as well as those of Kendall and Hench. For an account of the earlier work see R. D. H. Heard, The Hormones, vol. 1 (1948). For related aspects of the corticosteroids see A. White, P. Handler, and E. L. Smith, Principles of Biochemistry (3d ed. 1964). Also see New York Times August 6, 1996. |