Burckhardt Helferich (10 June 1887, in Greifswald – 5 July 1982, in Bonn) was a German chemist.

Biography

He was the son of surgery professor Heinrich Helferich (1851–1945). He studied science, especially Geology, at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

in Switzerland and from 1907 chemistry in Munich and Berlin. In Berlin, Helferich was advised by

Emil Fischer Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry, 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fisch ...

and later became his assistant. He became a professor of organic chemistry in Frankfurt before succeeding Rudolf Pummerer at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

. In 1930 he was called by the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

to succeed Arthur Hantzsch as director of the Chemistry Institute from 1930 to 1945. Helferich escaped Leipzig, and the American occupying forces evacuated him to

Weilburg Weilburg () is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Wes ...

in 1945. In 1947 he became a professor at the University of Bonn, serving as rector in 1954/55. In 1951 he was awarded the Emil-Fischer-Medaille. In 1957 he won an

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(Commander's Cross). Helferich was voted into the German Academy of Sciences and was made an honorary doctor of the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart () is a research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...

. Between 1911 and his retirement in 1974 he authored over 300 academic papers. His most famous student was (b. 1933), professor of chemistry at . Since 2005, The University of Leipzig awards a Burckhardt-Helferich-Prize.

Bibliography

*Hermann Stetter: ''Burckhardt Helferich. 1887–1982''. In: ''Chemische Berichte''. Vol. 118, Nr. 1, 1985, p. I-XIX

External links

Biografie auf uni-leipzig.de

University of Leipzig Professor Catalog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helferich, Burckhardt 1887 births 1982 deaths 20th-century German chemists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Academic staff of the University of Bonn Academic staff of Leipzig University German people of World War I Presidents of the German Chemical Society