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Otto Paul Hermann Diels (; 23 January 1876 – 7 March 1954) was a German
Immediately after graduating from the University of Berlin, he was offered a position with the Institute of Chemistry at the school. He advanced quickly through the ranks at the school, eventually ending up as Department Head in 1913. He remained at the University of Berlin until 1915, when he accepted a position at the 
Description and Importance of the Aromatic Basic Skeleton of the Steroids
English Translation of Diels and Alder's seminal 1928 German article that won them the Nobel prize. English title: 'Syntheses of the hydroaromatic series'; German title "Synthesen in der hydroaromatischen Reihe". {{DEFAULTSORT:Diels, Otto 1876 births 1954 deaths 20th-century German chemists Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Kiel Scientists from Berlin Nobel laureates in Chemistry German Nobel laureates German organic chemists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium alumni
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 ...
. His most notable work was done with Kurt Alder
Kurt Alder (; 10 July 1902 – 20 June 1958) was a German chemist and Nobel laureate.
Biography
Alder was born in the industrial area of Königshütte, Silesia (modern day Chorzów, Upper Silesia, Poland), where he received his early schoo ...
on the Diels–Alder reaction, a method for cyclohexene synthesis. The pair was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
in 1950 for their work. Their method of synthesizing cyclic organic compounds proved valuable for the manufacture of synthetic rubber and plastic. He completed his education 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 ...
, where he later worked. Diels was employed at the University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...
when he completed his Nobel Prize-winning work, and remained there until he retired in 1945. Diels was married, with five children. He died in 1954.
Early life
Diels was born on 23 January 1876 inHamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany, and moved with his family to Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
when he was two years old. He studied in Berlin at Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium before attending 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 ...
starting in 1895. While at university, Diels studied 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 ...
under 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 ...
, eventually graduating in 1899.
Professional career
Immediately after graduating from the University of Berlin, he was offered a position with the Institute of Chemistry at the school. He advanced quickly through the ranks at the school, eventually ending up as Department Head in 1913. He remained at the University of Berlin until 1915, when he accepted a position at the University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...
, where he remained until his retirement in 1945. It was during his time at Kiel, where he worked with Kurt Alder
Kurt Alder (; 10 July 1902 – 20 June 1958) was a German chemist and Nobel laureate.
Biography
Alder was born in the industrial area of Königshütte, Silesia (modern day Chorzów, Upper Silesia, Poland), where he received his early schoo ...
developing the Diels–Alder reaction, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
in 1950. His work with Alder developed a synthetic method which allows the synthesis of unsaturated cyclic compounds. This work was important in the production of synthetic rubber and plastic compounds.
Personal life
Diels married Paula Geyer in 1909. The couple had five children together, three sons and two daughters. Two of his sons werekilled in action
Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In his free time, Diels enjoyed reading, music and traveling. He died on 7 March 1954.
See also
* List of chemistsReferences
External links
*Nobel LecturDescription and Importance of the Aromatic Basic Skeleton of the Steroids
English Translation of Diels and Alder's seminal 1928 German article that won them the Nobel prize. English title: 'Syntheses of the hydroaromatic series'; German title "Synthesen in der hydroaromatischen Reihe". {{DEFAULTSORT:Diels, Otto 1876 births 1954 deaths 20th-century German chemists Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Kiel Scientists from Berlin Nobel laureates in Chemistry German Nobel laureates German organic chemists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium alumni