Fritz Feigl (15 May 1891 – 23 January 1971) was a Jewish
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n-born
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 t ...
. He taught at the
University of Brazil.
Biography
Feigl was born and studied in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, but owing to his military service in the First World War he had to interrupt his studies. He received his Ph.D. for work with
Wilhelm Schlenk in 1920. After his habilitation in 1928 he became a professor 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 hist ...
. He was forced to retire after the
Nazi occupation of Austria in 1938.
Feigl was able to get to Belgium and work there. After the occupation of Belgium he was imprisoned in a concentration camp, but was able to reach Portugal and from there Brazil in 1940.
He worked at the
University of Rio de Janeiro
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro or University of Brazil (UFRJ; pt, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro or ') is a public research university located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the ...
and became a Brazilian citizen in 1944.
Contributions
Fritz Feigl is the creator of "
spot analysis
Spot analysis, spot test analysis, or spot test is a chemical test, a simple and efficient technique where analytic assays are executed in only one, or a few drops, of a chemical solution, preferably in a great piece of filter paper, without using ...
" (
spot test
Spot analysis, spot test analysis, or spot test is a chemical test, a simple and efficient technique where analytic assays are executed in only one, or a few drops, of a chemical solution, preferably in a great piece of filter paper, without using ...
),
[ a simple and efficient technique where analytic assays are executed in only one, or a few drops, of a chemical solution, preferably in a great piece of filter paper, without using any sophisticated instrumentation. A notable example he developed was a simple test to know if fishes eaten by Amazon population are contaminated by lead. Poor populations by the Amazon rivers were taught to easily use that technique to find out contaminated fishes and discharge them.
On the occasion of Feigl's 70th birthday the Chemical Society of Midland sponsored a symposium in 1962, attended by 500 scientists from 24 countries, in which all plenary sessions were related on spot tests.][
A less known contribution is the development of "]luminol
Luminol (C8H7N3O2) is a chemical that exhibits chemiluminescence, with a blue glow, when mixed with an appropriate oxidizing agent. Luminol is a white-to-pale-yellow crystalline solid that is soluble in most polar organic solvents, but insolub ...
", a substance used by forensic investigators to detect the presence of blood, even if the scene has been washed and cleaned.
Literary works
* ''Qualitative Analyse mit Hilfe von Tüpfelreaktionen'', 1931
* ''Chemistry of specific, selective and sensitive reactions'', 1949
* ''Spot tests in inorganic analysis'', 1958
* ''Spot tests in organic analysis'', 1966
Decorations and awards
* 1931: Fritz Pregl Prize Fritz Pregl Prize has been awarded annually since 1931, to an Austrian scientist for distinguished achievements in chemistry by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (''Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften'') from the funds left at its disposal ...
* 1956: Honorary doctorate, University of Sao Paulo
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
* 1957: Wilhelm Exner Medal The Wilhelm Exner Medal has been awarded by the Austrian Industry Association, (ÖGV), for excellence in research and science since 1921.
The medal is dedicated to Wilhelm Exner (1840–1931), former president of the Association, who initialize ...
* 1961: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art
The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system.
History
The "Austrian ...
Fritz Feigl Prizes
*The Fritz Feigl Prize
The Fritz Feigl Prize (german: Fritz-Feigl-Preis) by the Austrian Society of Analytical Chemistry (ASAC) is named after Fritz Feigl.[Austrian Society of Analytical Chemistry
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: ...]
(ASAC), since 1950.
External links
* Weintraub, B. (2005)
, ''Chemistry in Israel'', Bull. Isr. Chem. Soc., Issue 20, December 2005. p 42–46.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feigl, Fritz
1891 births
1971 deaths
Austrian chemists
Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Brazil
Austro-Hungarian Jews
Brazilian chemists
Brazilian people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Austrian Jews
Brazilian Jews
Naturalized citizens of Brazil
People from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Scientists from Vienna
Academics of the University of Vienna
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro faculty
Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art