Friedrich Wilhelm Semmler (11 May 1860,
Hochzeit,
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...
– 15 March 1931) was a German
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
.
Life
Semmler studied chemistry at the
University of Straßburg
The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during t ...
and at the
University of Breslau
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
. He received is PhD in Breslau in 1887 and his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
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 1890. From 1896 till 1907 Semmler was professor at the University of Greifswald. After a two-year time working with
Hermann 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 ...
in Berlin Semmler accepted a position at the University of Breslau.
After
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Semmler increased his involvement into politics and he was elected in January 1919 for the
German National People's Party
The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...
as member of the
Weimar National Assembly
The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of it ...
. Subsequently, he was also elected for the German Parliament for the period between 1920 and 1924. From 1925 until his death in 1931 he was member of the
Preußischer Landtag
The Landtag of Prussia () was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Representatives (''Abgeordnetenhaus'') ...
.
During his academic career he focused on the research on
terpene
Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n ≥ 2. Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predomi ...
s. He was also able to determine the structure of various terpenes and of the main compound of
garlic oil
Garlic oil is the volatile oil derived from garlic. It is usually prepared using steam distillation, and can also be produced via distillation using ether. It is used in cooking and as a seasoning, a nutritional supplement, and also as an insecti ...
,
diallyl disulfide
Diallyl disulfide (DADS or 4,5-dithia-1,7-octadiene) is an organosulfur compound derived from garlic and a few other plants in the genus ''Allium''. Along with diallyl trisulfide and diallyl tetrasulfide, it is one of the principal components of ...
.
Works
* ''Die ätherischen Öle nach ihren chemischen Bestandteilen : unter Berücksichtigung der geschichtlichen Entwicklung'' . Vol. 1-4 . Veit, Leipzig 1906-190
Digital editionby the
University and State Library Düsseldorf
The University and State Library Düsseldorf (, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of the three State Libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia.
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semmler, Friedrich-Wilhelm
1860 births
1931 deaths
People from Strzelce-Drezdenko County
Scientists from the Province of Brandenburg
German Protestants
German National People's Party politicians
Members of the Weimar National Assembly
Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic
20th-century German chemists
University of Strasbourg alumni
University of Breslau alumni
19th-century German chemists