Johann Georg Dragendorff
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Johann Georg Noel Dragendorff (August 8, 1836 – April 7, 1898) was a German
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 ...
and
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 ...
born in
Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...
.


Education

He earned his doctorate in philosophy from the
University of Rostock The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...
in 1861, and following graduation worked for the Pharmaceutical Society of
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
. From 1864 to 1894 he was a professor of
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
at the
Imperial University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.
. In 1872 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine from the
University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
. He was the president of the
Estonian Naturalists' Society Estonian Naturalists' Society (, ELUS) is the oldest Estonia-based society of naturalists. It was founded in 1853, and since establishing has been the major scientific organisation focusing on natural history of Estonia. The society is based in ...
in 1890–1893. He received the Hanbury Medal in 1885."The Hanbury Medal"
in ''rpharms.com'', Royal Pharmaceutical society.


Dragendorff's reagent and Dragendorff's test

His name is associated with
Dragendorff's reagent Dragendorff's reagent is a color reagent to detect alkaloids in a test sample or as a stain for chromatography plates. Alkaloids, if present in the solution of sample, will react with Dragendorff's reagent and produce an orange or orange-red prec ...
, which is a solution of
potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...
bismuth iodide used to ascertain the presence of
alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, 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 varie ...
s. Dragendorff's test is a qualitative test formerly used for
bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), also known as gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is pro ...
.


Selected publications

* ''Beiträge zur gerichtlichen Chemie'' (Contributions to
forensic chemistry Forensic chemistry is the application of chemistry and its subfield, forensic toxicology, in a legal setting. A forensic chemist can assist in the identification of unknown materials found at a crime scene. Specialists in this field have a wid ...
); (1871) * ''Die gerichtlichchemische Ermittelung von Giften'' (Forensic chemical ascertainment of toxins); (1876) * ''Die qualitative und quantitative Analyse von Pflanzen und Pflanzentheilen'' (Qualitative and quantitative analysis of plants); (1882) * ''Die Heilpflanzen der verschiedenen Völker und Zeiten. Ihre Anwendung, wesentlichen Bestandtheile und Geschichte'' (Medicinal plants of various peoples and times); (1898)


Literature

* * Ursula Kokoska: ''Johann Georg Noel Dragendorff (20.4.1836-7.4.1898). Sein Beitrag zur Gerichtsmedizin, Pharmakologie und Pharmazie an der Universität Dorpat.'' (Inaugural dissertation to the Free University of Berlin; Berlin, 1983) * * Hendrik Randow: ''Ein Beitrag zur Biographie von Georg Dragendorff (1836-1898). Sein Leben und Wirken für die pharmazeutische Forschung und Lehre.'' (In: ''Mecklenburgische Persönlichkeiten und ihre Beiträge zum wissenschaftlich-technischen Fortschritt in der Geschichte.'' Heft 13 der Reihe ''Rostocker Wissenschaftshistorische Manuskripte,'' publ. by the History Department of the Wilhelm Pieck University, Rostock, 1986, pp. 42–47) * ''Dragendorff, Johann Georg Noël'' in ''BBLD - Baltisches biografisches Lexikon digital'
(digitalised)
*


References


Pagel Biographical Dictionary
(translated from German)

(definition of eponyms) German pharmacists 19th-century German chemists People from Rostock Academic staff of the University of Tartu 1836 births 1898 deaths {{Germany-chemist-stub