Heinrich Emanuel Merck (15 September 1794 – 14 February 1855) was an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

whose descendants are the founders of

Merck and Company Merck & Co., Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey. The company does business as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical com ...

and

Merck KGaA The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German Multinational corporation, multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and a presence in 66 countries. The group include ...

Biography

He was a direct descendant of company founder Friedrich Jacob Merck, who had purchased the Engel-Apotheke (Angel Pharmacy) in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

in 1668. The pharmacy is still part of

, but the original building was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the bombing campaigns, and therefore it is a new construction. Merck studied pharmacy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He then worked at his father's Engel-Apotheke. In 1816 he took over management. In addition to this he was occupied with research on the chemical constitution of herbal natural material. He isolated

alkaloids Alkaloids are a broad class of naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms i ...

and prepared them in a pure state. In 1827, Merck sold all the known alkaloids to other pharmacists, chemists and physicians. From 1838 until 1841 he ran a

candle A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

factory and became a member of the town council of

in 1828. As a court consultant he was working on the homicide case of the Mistress of

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

in 1850. At the time of Merck's death, ca. 23—50 workers were employed at his chemical-pharmaceutical factory. His three sons took over his business.

Engel-Apotheke

*Friedrich Jacob Merck in the 17th century *Heinrich Emanuel Merck (1794–1855) from 1816–1855

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merck, Heinrich Emanuel Merck Group people 1794 births 1855 deaths German pharmacists Scientists from Darmstadt 19th-century German chemists

Biography

Engel-Apotheke

See also

References