Tadeusz Reichstein (20 July 1897 – 1 August 1996), also known as Tadeus Reichstein, was a Polish-

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

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 ...

and a

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

laureate (1950), which was awarded for his work on the isolation of

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enzyme corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenase ...

Early life

Reichstein was born into a

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

family at

Włocławek Włocławek (; or ''Alt Lesle'', Yiddish: וולאָצלאַוועק, romanized: ''Vlatzlavek'') is a city in the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship in central Poland along the Vistula River, bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. His parents were Gastawa (Brockmann) and Izydor Reichstein. He spent his early childhood at

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, where his father was an engineer. Due to the violent pogroms occurring all over the Russian Empire in 1905, his father began to explore emigration options for the family. Tadeus began his education at boarding-school in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and arrived in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

two years later (1907) at the age of 10.

Career

Reichstein studied under

Hermann Staudinger Hermann Staudinger (; 23 March 1881 – 8 September 1965) was a German organic chemist who demonstrated the existence of macromolecules, which he characterized as polymers. For this work he received the 1953 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is also ...

during the latter's brief stint at the Technical University of Karlsruhe. It was here that he met Leopold Ruzicka, also a doctoral student. In 1933, working in

, Switzerland, at the

ETHZ ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

chemical laboratories of Ruzicka, Reichstein succeeded, independently of Sir

Norman Haworth Sir Walter Norman Haworth Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (19 March 1883 – 19 March 1950) was a British chemist best known for his groundbreaking work on ascorbic acid (vitamin C) while working at the University of Birmingham. He received th ...

and his collaborators in the United Kingdom, in synthesizing

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

(ascorbic acid) in what is now called the Reichstein process. In 1937, he was appointed Associate Professor at ETHZ. In 1937, Reichstein moved to the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

where he became Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and then, from 1946 until his retirement in 1967, of Organic Chemistry. Together with

Edward Calvin Kendall Edward Calvin Kendall (March 8, 1886 – May 4, 1972) was an American biochemist. In 1950, Kendall was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine along with Swiss chemist Tadeusz Reichstein and Mayo Clinic physician Philip S. Hench, fo ...

and Philip Showalter Hench, he was awarded the

in 1950 for their work on

hormones A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones a ...

of the

adrenal cortex The adrenal cortex is the outer region and also the largest part of the adrenal gland. It is divided into three separate zones: zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata and zona reticularis. Each zone is responsible for producing specific hormones. I ...

which culminated in the isolation of

. In 1951, he and Kendall were jointly awarded the

Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh The Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh is awarded by the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine to a person who has made any highly important and v ...

. In later years, Reichstein became interested in the phytochemistry and

cytology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

of ferns, publishing at least 80 papers on these subjects in the last three decades of his life. He had a particular interest in the use of

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number and behavior in the interpretation of histories of hybridization and

polyploidy Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

, but also continued his earlier interest in the chemical constituents of the plants.

Retirement and death

Reichstein died at the age of 99 in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland. The principal industrial process for the artificial synthesis of vitamin C still bears his name. Reichstein was the longest-lived Nobel laureate at the time of his death, but was surpassed in 2008 by

Rita Levi-Montalcini Rita Levi-Montalcini ( , ; 22 April 1909 – 30 December 2012) was an Italian neurobiologist. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with colleague Stanley Cohen for the discovery of nerve growth factor ( ...

References

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1950 ''Chemistry of the Adrenal Cortex Hormones''
Tadeus Reichstein article by B. Weintraub, The Israel Chemist and Engineer, August 2016, issue 2, p. 46
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichstein, Tadeusz 1897 births 1996 deaths Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Academic staff of ETH Zurich Jewish Nobel laureates Polish Nobel laureates Swiss Nobel laureates People from Włocławek People from Warsaw Governorate Jews from the Russian Empire Swiss people of Polish-Jewish descent Pteridologists Polish chemists Jewish chemists Jewish scientists ETH Zurich alumni Foreign members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Copley Medal People associated with the University of Basel

Early life

Career

Retirement and death

See also

References

External links