Theodor Wertheim (25 December 1820 – 6 July 1864) was an Austrian

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

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He was the father of

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

Ernst Wertheim (1864-1920). He studied

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

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 ...

as a pupil of Eilhard Mitscherlich, and in 1843 travelled to the University of Prague, where he studied under Josef Redtenbacher.{Statement based on translated text from an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

. He served as

privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

in Vienna, and from 1853 to 1860, was a professor at the

University of Pest A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. From 1861 onward, he was a professor at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

. In May 1864, he moved back to Vienna, where he died soon afterwards. In 1848 he became a corresponding member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences. In 1844 Wertheim distilled a pungent substance from

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

, naming it "allyl". In his research, he noticed the close relationship between garlic oil and

mustard oil Mustard oil can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking or a pungent essential oil, also known as volatile oil, of the mustard plant. The essential oil results from grinding mustard seed, mixing the grounds with water, and isolating the resu ...

.Theodor Wertheim: About the relationship between mustard oil and garlic oil, Annalen der Chemie and Pharmacie 55/3 (1845) 297-304. He published a number of studies on garlic oil,

piperine Piperine, possibly along with its isomer chavicine, is the compound responsible for the pungency of black pepper and long pepper via activation of TRPV1. It has been used in some forms of traditional medicine. Preparation Extraction Due t ...

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...

and

coniine Coniine is a poisonous chemical compound, an alkaloid present in and isolable from poison hemlock ('' Conium maculatum''), where its presence has been a source of significant economic, medical, and historico-cultural interest; coniine is also pro ...

in '' Liebig’s Annalen der Chemie''.

References

*

biography @

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

Bibliography

* Johannes Uray, Organische Chemie in chemischer Forschung und Lehre an österreichischen Universitäten zwischen 1840 und 1870. In: Bericht über den 25. Österreichischen Historikertag in St. Pölten 2008. St. Pölten 2010, S 402-427. Scientists from the Austrian Empire Academic staff of the University of Vienna Academic staff of Eötvös Loránd University Academic staff of the University of Graz Scientists from Vienna 1820 births 1864 deaths Austrian chemists {{chemist-stub

See also

References

Bibliography