Hermann Otto Laurenz Fischer (16 December 1888 – 9 March 1960) was a German American professor of biochemistry and son of Emil Fischer. Fischer's work was on synthesis and the determination of structures of organic compounds. Fischer was born the eldest son in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

to Emil Fischer, professor of chemistry, and Agnes Gerlach. The family moved to Berlin in 1892 where Fischer went to the Gymnasium. While the other two brothers sought medical careers, he chose chemistry, studying in Cambridge in 1907 after being impressed by Sir William Ramsay who had made a family visit. He then joining for military service. He then went to the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

and later Jena where he studied

tautomerism Tautomers () are structural isomers (constitutional isomers) of chemical compounds that readily interconvert. The chemical reaction interconverting the two is called tautomerization. This conversion commonly results from the relocation of a hyd ...

of diketones under

Ludwig Knorr Ludwig Knorr (2 December 1859 – 4 June 1921) was a German chemist. Together with Carl Paal, he discovered the Paal–Knorr synthesis, and the Knorr quinoline synthesis and Knorr pyrrole synthesis are also named after him. The synthesis in 18 ...

. He then went to Berlin to study under his father and was involved in the synthesis of didepsides. World War I led to all the brothers being drafted, with Hermann joining a chemical warfare unit. His two brothers died during the war. and in 1919 his father died. Hermann continued to work in reorganizing the Berlin institute and collaborated with Gerda Dangschat and Erich Baer on elucidating structures and in the synthesis of various compounds including the quinic ester of caffeic acid and the D-enantiomorph of DL-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate which was used in studies of alcoholic fermentation and glycolysis. Fischer married Ruth Seckels in 1922 and they had three children. In 1932 he moved to 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 ...

and in 1937, he went to the University of Toronto to work with Sir

Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential. In 1923, Banting and J ...

. In 1948 Fischer joined the University of California, Berkeley where he spent the last years of his life as a professor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Hermann Otto Laurenz 1888 births 1960 deaths German biochemists