Othmar Zeidler (29 August 1850 – 17 June 1911)
[Though many sources mention 1859 as Zeidler's year of birth, this would make him a mere 14 years old at the time of his dissertation in 1873. The 1859 birth yea]
was used
by Joseph S. Fruton
Joseph Stewart Fruton (May 14, 1912 – July 29, 2007), born Joseph Fruchtgarten, was a Polish-American biochemist and historian of science. His most significant scientific work involved synthetic peptides and their interactions with proteases; ...
, in his ''Contrasts in scientific style: research groups in the chemical and biochemical sciences'', Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, Vol 191, 1990, p. 373, as well as by Gerhard Oberkofler in ''Leopold Ruzicka, 1887–1976: schweizer Chemiker und Humanist aus Altösterreich'', p. 44. The latter even has him quit his pharmacy studies at the Vienna University in 1872 (at the apparent age of 12/13) to move to Strassburg. However, ''Materialien zur Geschichte der Apotheken und Apotheker Niederösterreichs'' gives his year of birth as 1850; furthermore, his obituary at ''Oesterreichische Chemiker–Zeitung'' in 1911 states that Zeidler was 61 years at the time of his death, placing his birth around 1850 (in reality, Zeidler died 2 months shy of his 61st birthday). was an
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
credited with the first synthesis of
DDT
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
.
He was born on 29 August 1850 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
a son of the Viennese pharmacist Franz Zeidler. Othmar's brother, Franz Zeidler Jr. (1851–1901), also became a chemist and would collaborate with him on several projects.
[Obituary of Franz Zeidler Jr]
in ''Zeitschrift des allgemeinen Oesterreichischen Apotheker-Vereines'', Volume 39, 1901 As a doctoral student with
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 ...
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 ...
, then in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Zeidler is credited with the first synthesis of the insecticide
Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane or DDT in 1874. Othmar returned to Austria before 1876 and, after working at the ''I. chemischen Universitätslaboratorium'' at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
,
[ became a pharmacist in the Fünfhaus district of the capital.Zeitschrift des allgemeinen Oesterreichischen Apotheker-Vereines]
Volume 27 (1889) He died in
Mauer near Vienna on 17 June 1911.
Notes
References
External links
History , CDC Malariaat www.cdc.gov
*
1850 births
1911 deaths
Austrian chemists
Austrian pharmacists
University of Strasbourg alumni
Scientists from Vienna
{{chemist-stub