Heinrich Otto Wieland (4 June 1877 – 5 August 1957) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
. He won the 1927
Nobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
for his research into the
bile acidBile acids are steroid acids found predominantly in the bile of mammals. Bile salts are bile acids conjugated to glycine or taurine. In humans, taurocholic acid and glycocholic acid represent approximately eighty percent of all bile salts. The two major bile acids are cholic acid, and...
s. In 1901 Wieland received his doctorate at the University of Munich while studying under
Johannes ThieleFriedrich Karl Johannes Thiele was a German chemist and a prominent professor at several universities, including those in Munich and Strasbourg. He developed many laboratory techniques related to isolation of organic compounds...
. In 1904 he completed his
habilitationHabilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and...
, then continued to teach at the university and starting in 1907 was a consultant for
Boehringer-IngelheimBoehringer Ingelheim GmbH is a pharmaceutical company which concentrates on the development of human pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, chemicals, and animal health products. The Human Pharmaceuticals sector is the company's largest division, accounting for around 96% of sales...
. In 1914 he became associate professor for special topics in organic chemistry, and director of the Organic Division of the State Laboratory in Munich.
Heinrich Otto Wieland (4 June 1877 – 5 August 1957) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
. He won the 1927
Nobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
for his research into the
bile acidBile acids are steroid acids found predominantly in the bile of mammals. Bile salts are bile acids conjugated to glycine or taurine. In humans, taurocholic acid and glycocholic acid represent approximately eighty percent of all bile salts. The two major bile acids are cholic acid, and...
s. In 1901 Wieland received his doctorate at the University of Munich while studying under
Johannes ThieleFriedrich Karl Johannes Thiele was a German chemist and a prominent professor at several universities, including those in Munich and Strasbourg. He developed many laboratory techniques related to isolation of organic compounds...
. In 1904 he completed his
habilitationHabilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and...
, then continued to teach at the university and starting in 1907 was a consultant for
Boehringer-IngelheimBoehringer Ingelheim GmbH is a pharmaceutical company which concentrates on the development of human pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, chemicals, and animal health products. The Human Pharmaceuticals sector is the company's largest division, accounting for around 96% of sales...
. In 1914 he became associate professor for special topics in organic chemistry, and director of the Organic Division of the State Laboratory in Munich. From 1917 to 1918 Wieland worked in the service of the (KWI) Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Elektrochemistry in
DahlemThis article refers to the neighborhood in Berlin. For other places with the same name, please see Dahlem .Dahlem is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf...
then led by
Fritz HaberFritz Haber was a German chemist, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his development for synthesizing ammonia, important for fertilizers and explosives. Haber, along with Max Born, proposed the Born–Haber cycle as a method for evaluating the lattice energy of an ionic solid...
as an alternative to regular military service. There he was involved in weapons research for instance finding new synthetic routes for mustard gas. He is also credited with the first synthesis of
AdamsiteAdamsite or DM is an organic compound; technically, an arsenical diphenylaminechlorarsine, that can be used as a riot control agent. DM belongs to the group of chemical warfare agents known as vomiting agents or sneeze gases...
.
From 1913 to 1921, he was Professor at the
Technical University of MunichThe Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan....
. He then moved to the
University of FreiburgThe University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Hapsburg dynasty as the second university in...
as successor of
Ludwig GattermannLudwig Gattermann was a German chemist who significant contributor to both organic and inorganic chemistry.- Early life :...
(he also assumed responsibility for Gattermanns infamous cookbook). In Freiburg he started working on toad poisons and bile acids. In association with Boehringer-Ingelheim he worked on synthetic alkaloids such as
morphineMorphine is a highly potent opiate analgesic psychoactive drug, is the principal active ingredient in Papaver somniferum , is considered to be the prototypical opioid. Like other opioids, e.g...
and
strychnineStrychnine is a very toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion. The most common source is from the seeds of the...
In 1925 Wieland succeeded
Richard WillstätterRichard Martin Willstätter was a German organic chemist whose study of the structure of plant pigments, chlorophyll included, won him the 1915 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Willstätter invented paper chromatography independently of Mikhail Tsvet.-Biography:Willstätter was born in to a Jewish family...
as Chemistry Professor at the University of Munich.
In 1941, Wieland isolated the toxin
alpha-amanitinalpha-Amanitin or α-amanitin is a cyclic peptide of eight amino acids. It is possibly the most deadly of all the amatoxins, toxins found in several members of the Amanita genus of mushrooms, one being the Death cap as well as the Destroying angel, a complex of similar species, principally A....
, the principal active agent of one of the world's most poisonous mushrooms
Amanita phalloides.
Wieland tried successfully to protect people, especially
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish students, who were "racially burdened" after the
Nuremberg LawsThe Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany which were introduced at the annual Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg. The laws classified people as German if all four of their grandparents were of "German or kindred blood", while people were classified as Jews if they descended from...
. Students who were expelled because they were "racially burdened" could stay in Heinrich Wieland's group as chemists or as "Gäste des Geheimrats" (guests of the privy councillor). After collecting money for
Kurt HuberKurt Huber was a member of the White Rose group, which carried out resistance against Nazi Germany.-Early life:...
's widow Clara Huber,
Hans Conrad LeipeltHans Conrad Leipelt was a member of the White Rose resistance group in Nazi Germany.Leipelt was born in Vienna. His father was a graduate in civil engineering, and his mother a chemist from a Christian family with Jewish roots...
, a student of Wieland, was sentenced to death.
Family
Heinrichs father, Theodor Wieland (1846 - 1928) was a pharmacist with a doctorate in chemistry. He owned a gold and silver refinery in Pforzheim . Heinrich Wieland was a cousin of Helene Boehringer, the wife of Albert Boehringer, who was the founder of
Boehringer-IngelheimBoehringer Ingelheim GmbH is a pharmaceutical company which concentrates on the development of human pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, chemicals, and animal health products. The Human Pharmaceuticals sector is the company's largest division, accounting for around 96% of sales...
. From 1915 to the end of 1920, he was advisor at Boehringer-Ingelheim and during this time he established the first scientific department of the company.
Eva Wieland, Heinrich Wieland's daughter, was married to
Feodor LynenFeodor Felix Konrad Lynen was a German biochemist.- Biography :Feodor Lynen was born in Munich, Germany on 6 April 1911. He started his studies at the chemistry department of Munich University in 1930 and graduated in March 1937 under Heinrich Wieland with the work: "On the Toxic Substances in...
on 14 May 1937.
Heinrich Wieland Prize
Since 1964, the
Heinrich Wieland PrizeThe Heinrich Wieland Prize is an annual science award for research on lipids in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and clinical medicine. It is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, and awarded by a board of trustees...
has been awarded annually to promote research on chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and clinical medicine of lipids and related substances. The prize is among the most treasured international science awards and has a successful history of over 40 years. To date it has been presented to 58 scientists. The Heinrich Wieland Prize is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and awarded by an independent Board of Trustees.
External links
- http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1927/wieland-bio.html