Rudolf Geigy (20 December 1902 – 8 March 1995) was a Swiss biologist and a professor of embryology and genetics at the

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

. He established the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and studied

tropical diseases Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by for ...

Life and career

Geigy was born in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland on 20 December 1902. He was the son of Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian and Helene Schlumberger who belonged to the family that established

Geigy Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by revenue in 2024. Novartis manufactures the drugs ...

, a major pharmaceutical firm. He studied zoology at Basel and Geneva. In 1938 he became an associate professor of embryology and genetics at the University of Basel. In 1943 he established the Swiss Tropical Institute (now Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute) in Basel where he was a director until 1972. He also established the

Ifakara Health Institute The Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) is a health research organization with offices in Ifakara, Dar es Salaam, Ikwiriri, Bagamoyo, and Mtwara, Tanzania. The institute conducts health-related research in a variety of areas, including malaria and H ...

in Ifakara, Tanzania after a visit in 1949, and a research institute on the Ivory Coast. He studied

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

sleeping sickness African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species '' Trypanosoma b ...

, and

river blindness Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...

. He specialized in disease-transmitting vectors including

tsetse flies Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glos ...

, mites, and ticks. Geigy married three times with three daughters and a son from the second wife. He then married Charlotte Hunziker in 1972. On 8 March 1995, due to health issues, the couple chose to die by

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

through the

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

organization ''Exit (Switzerland)'', which led to a major debate on

euthanasia in Switzerland Active euthanasia is illegal in Switzerland (administration by a third-party), but supplying the means for dying is legal (assisted suicide), as long as the action which directly causes death is performed by the one wishing to die. Assisted suici ...

. During his life, Geigy helped establish a number of institutions which have since merged. The Rudolf Geigy Foundation continues to give awards named for Geigy to scholars researching tropical and neglected diseases, specifically those who combine field and laboratory work in novel ways, honoring Geigy's legacy of doing so himself.

References

External links

History of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geigy, Rudolf Academic staff of the University of Basel Scientists from Basel-Stadt 1902 births 1995 deaths Deaths by euthanasia 20th-century Swiss biologists

Life and career

See also

References

External links