Johan Hermann Wilhelm Rupe (October 9, 1866, in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

– January 12, 1951) was a professor of organic chemistry at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

. His main field of interest was

terpene Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes ar ...

s and

campher Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kap ...

as well as optical activity.

Life

Rupe was born on October 9, 1866, in Basel to Johannes Rupe and Mathilde Rupe (born Fischer) and went to school in Basel. He passed his

Maturität or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

in 1885 and then went on to study in Basel under Julius Piccard. He continued his studies at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

under

Rudolf Fittig Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig (6 December 183519 November 1910) was a German chemist. He discovered the pinacol coupling reaction, mesitylene, diacetyl and biphenyl. Fittig studied the action of sodium on ketones and hydrocarbons. He discovered the Fit ...

and then in 1887 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

under

Adolf von Baeyer Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (; 31 October 1835 – 20 August 1917) was a German chemist who synthesised indigo and developed a nomenclature for cyclic compounds (that was subsequently extended and adopted as part of the IUPAC org ...

. Rupe received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in 1889 at Munich for his dissertation ''Über die Reduktionsprodukte der Dichloromuconsäure''. In 1894 he went to

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...

to become head of the "Chemieschule" in the organic division. Rupe

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

in 1895 in Basel, where he moved in 1899. In 1903, he became an associate professor for

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

at the

. He worked with the chemistry Professor

Rudolf Nietzki Rudolf Hugo Nietzki (9 March 1847 – 28 September 1917) was a German chemist who specialized in industrial dyes derived from coal tar. While a professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland he initiated the university's association with to th ...

, who retired in 1911. In 1911 or 1912 , he was promoted to full professor for organic chemistry (while his colleague

Friedrich Fichter Friedrich Fichter (6 July 1869 – 1952) was a professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Basel. His main field of interest was electrochemistry. He initiated the founding of the scientific journal ''Helvetica Chimica Acta''. Life Fi ...

became professor for

inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disci ...

). During his time as a professor, he supervised nearly 150 students and published over 250 scientific articles. In 1907, he married Margrit Hagenback, daughter of

Eduard Hagenbach-Bischoff Eduard Hagenbach-Bischoff (20 February 1833, in Basel – 23 December 1910, in Basel) was a Swiss physicist. The Hagenbach-Bischoff quota (a voting system) is named after him. The son of the theologian Karl Rudolf Hagenbach, he studied physics a ...

with whom he had three children. His wife died in 1926 and in 1933 his youngest son died. In 1936 he married Marguerite Lutz. Rupe retired in 1937 and died on January 12, 1951.

Honors

* foreign member of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina (1932). * president and co-founder of the Schweizerischen Chemischen Gesellschaft * editor of ''

Helvetica Chimica Acta ''Helvetica Chimica Acta'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of chemistry established by the Swiss Chemical Society. It is published online by John Wiley & Sons. The journal has a 2020 impact factor of 2.164. History *August 6, 1901: Founding o ...

''. * discoverer of a named reaction, the

Rupe rearrangement Rupe may refer to: Places: *Rupe, Mozambique, a settlement in Mozambique *Rupe, Celje, a village in the City Municipality of Celje, eastern Slovenia *Rupe, Velike Lašče, a village in the Municipality of Velike Lašče, southern Slovenia *Rupe pri ...

Publications

* ''Ungesättigte Aldehyde aus Acetylen‐alkoholen'', Helvetica Chimica Acta, 9, 672, 1926. * ''Anleitung zum Experimentieren in der Vorlesung über organische Chemie'', Braunschweig, 1. Aufl. 1909, 2. Aufl. 1930. * ''Adolf von Baeyer als Lehrer und Forscher. Erinnerungen aus seinem Privatlaboratorium''. Stuttgart 1932.

References

History page of the University of Basel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rupe, Hans 1866 births 1951 deaths Swiss chemists Academic staff of the University of Basel Scientists from Basel-Stadt