Alexander Tschirch (17 October 1856 – 2 December 1939) was a German-Swiss

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

born in

Guben Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...

. He received pharmacy training in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and at the ''Berner Staatsapotheke'' (Bern state apothecary). From 1878 to 1880 he studied at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, earning his PhD at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

in 1881, followed by a degree in botany from Berlin in 1884. In 1889–90 he took a study tour of India,

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. From 1890 to 1932 he was a professor of pharmacy and

pharmacognosy Pharmacognosy is the interdisciplinary scientific study of natural drugs and bioactive compounds from plants, animals, and minerals—originally focused on identifying crude drugs but now expanded to molecular, chemical, ecological, and medicin ...

at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

, serving as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

in 1908–09. Tschirch is known for his studies in

plant anatomy Plant anatomy or phytotomy is the general term for the study of the internal Anatomy, structure of plants. Originally, it included plant morphology, the description of the physical form and external structure of plants, but since the mid-20th centu ...

and for his research of

resins A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Comm ...

and

anthraquinone Anthraquinone, also called anthracenedione or dioxoanthracene, is an aromatic hydrocarbon, aromatic organic compound with formula . Several isomers exist but these terms usually refer to 9,10-anthraquinone (IUPAC: 9,10-dioxoanthracene) wherein th ...

glycosides In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

. He made significant contributions towards the fourth and fifth editions of the Pharmacopoeia Helvetica. He was the author of twenty books and numerous journal articles; among his written works is "''Die Harze und die Harzbehälter mit Einschluss der Milchsäfte''", a highly regarded reference book on resins and other

plant extract An extract (essence) is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or absolutes or dried and powdered. The aromatic principles of many ...

s. He became corresponding member of the Société de Pharmacie of Paris in 1893, honorary member of the Swiss Parmaceutical Society in 1906, and was given an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Medicine of Berne and of the Federal Polytechnic Institute of Zurich. He received the Flückiger medal, the Hanbury medal (1907) and the Werner medal. A member of many scientific societies, he was also vice-president of the Commission de la Pharmacopée helvétique.Nécrologie. Alexander Tschirch (1856-1939)
in ''Bulletin des sciences pharmacologiques'', 1940, p. 106-107.

Written works

In 1922 he published in the ''Journal suisse de Pharmacie'' a notice titled « Cinquante ans au service de la Pharmacie et des Sciences naturelles » and a list of his 450 publications, including over 100 of those regarding the chemistry of resins. * ''Untersuchungen über das Chlorophyll'' (1884) – Investigations of

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

. * ''Grundlagen der Pharmakognosie'' (with

Friedrich August Flückiger Friedrich August Flückiger (also spelled Flueckiger; 15 May 1828 - 11 December 1894) was a Swiss pharmacist, chemist and botanist. He was born on 15 May 1828, in Langenthal, canton of Bern. Flückiger studied chemistry at the University of Berli ...

, Berlin 1885) – Fundamentals of pharmacognosy. * ''Angewandte Pflanzenanatomie'' (Vienna and Leipzig 1889) – Applied plant anatomy. * ''Untersuchungen über die Sekrete'' (1890 to 1899) – Investigations of secretions. * ''Indische Heil- und Nutzpflanzen'' (1892) – Indian medicinal and useful plants. * ''Das Kupfer, vom Standpunkte der gerichtl. Chemie, Toxikologie und Hygiene'' (Stuttgart 1893) -- Copper, from the standpoint of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...

and

hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

Digital edition
by the

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* ''Anatomischer Atlas der Pharmakognosie'' (with Otto Österle, 1893) – Anatomical atlas of pharmacognosy. * ''Beziehungen des Chlorophylls zum Blutfarbstoff'' (1896) – Relationships of chlorophyll to

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobin ...

. * ''Versuch einer Theorie der organischen Abführmittel, welche Oxymethylanthrachinone enthalten'' (1898) – Theory of organic laxatives which contain oxymethylanthrachinone. * ''Die Harze'' (1899) –- Resins.Pagel: Biographisches Lexikon hervorragender Ärzte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. Berlin, Wien 1901, Sp. 1732
(publications) * ''Anatomischer Atlas der Pharmakognosie und Nahrungsmittelkunde'': (with 81 tables- Leipzig: Tauchnitz, 1900). – Anatomical atlas of pharmacognosy and "food science"
Digital edition
by the

* ''Die Harze und die Harzbehälter mit Einschluss der Milchsäfte'' (second edition, 1906) * ''Handbuch der Pharmakognosie''. (volume 1–

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Tauchnitz Tauchnitz was the name of a family of German printers and publishers. They published English language literature for distribution on the European continent outside Great Britain, including initial serial publications of novels by Charles Dickens. ...

1909–1927) – Textbook of Pharmacognosy. * ''Terminologie und Systematik im pharmakochemischen Systeme der Drogen, speziell in der Kohlehydrat-o gruppe'' ( .l.1911
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* ''Les Problèmes modernes de la Pharmacognosie'' ( .l.1911
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* ''Erlebtes und Erstrebtes: Lebenserinnerungen''. (

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, 1921) – memoirs.

References

Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
(biography) * Four items in the list of publications are copied from an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

Written works

References

Further reading