Friedrich Georg Carl (Friedrich) Gaedcke (5 June 1828 – 19 September 1890) was a German chemist. He was the first person to isolate the

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

in 1855. Gaedcke named the alkaloid “erythroxyline,” and published a description in the journal

Archiv der Pharmazie The ''Archiv der Pharmazie'' (German pronunciation: � arˈçiːf ˈdeːɐ̯ farmaˈtsiː English: ''Archive of Pharmacy'') is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of chemistry in the life sciences. The journal was estab ...

. Gaedcke worked in a pharmacy in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

and studied in Rostock between 1850 and 1851. In 1856, he took over a pharmacy in Dömitz which he ran for 3 4 years.

References

1828 births 1890 deaths 19th-century German chemists People from Rostock {{Germany-chemist-stub