Walter Henry Hartung (1895 – 1961) was an American pharmaceutical chemist. His work studied the chemical and biological properties of

amines In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...

Early life and education

Hartung was born in

Welcome, Minnesota Welcome is a city in Martin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 710 at the 2020 census. History While a post office called "Welcome" has been in operation since 1881, the city was not incorporated until 1890. Welcome was inc ...

and began his postsecondary education at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, ultimately graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1918 after a tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps during World War I. He went on to receive his PhD in organic chemistry in 1926 from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, where he was advised by

Homer Burton Adkins Homer Burton Adkins (16 January 1892 – 10 August 1949) was an American chemist who studied the hydrogenation of organic compounds. Adkins was regarded as top in his field and a world authority on the hydrogenation of organic compounds. Adki ...

Career and later life

After completing his PhD, Hartung taught as a lecturer at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

while employed for Sharp & Dohme for 10 years (now Merck & Co.). In 1936, Hartung became the Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the

University of Maryland School of Pharmacy 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 ...

. In 1941, he published a textbook, ''The Chemistry of Organic Medicinal Products'', which was translated into Spanish. In 1948, Hartung was recruited to be a professor at the

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is the pharmacy school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The school of pharmacy also maintains a satellite campus at UNC Asheville. Histo ...

, where he taught courses such as organic and inorganic pharmaceutical chemistry and drug analysis. He left UNC for the Medical College of Virginia School of Pharmacy in 1956. Upon the resignation of Hartung and his colleague John Andrako from the UNC School of Pharmacy, the chancellor stated, "The School of Pharmacy has lost its primary scholar and best teacher." In 1950, Hartung was elected to the Revision Committee of the

United States Pharmacopeia The ''United States Pharmacopeia'' (''USP'') is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information) for the United States published annually by the over 200-year old United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofi ...

. Hartung was also an editor of the fifth and sixth volumes of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

's Division of Medicinal Chemistry reviews, ''Medicinal Chemistry''. During his 25 years as a professor, he advised over 18 master's students and 48 PhD students. Hartung died unexpectedly of heart complications in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

on September 29, 1961, at the age of 66.

Honors and awards

In 1933, Hartung was elected a

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

. In 1947, Hartung was awarded the American Pharmaceutical Association's Ebert Prize. Hartung was also a fellow of the

American Institute of Chemists The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the United States. The institute is known for its yearly awards recognizing contributions of individuals in this fie ...

and the

New York Academy of Science The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

Legacy

An editorial note in the October 1961 issue of the ''

Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences The ''Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the American Pharmacists Association, with the support of the International Pharmaceutical Federation. It is also published ...

'' described Hartung as "a pioneer in the field of drug chemistry." In 1968, the

posthumously established a lectureship in his name, the Walter H. Hartung Memorial Lecture.

Personal life

With his wife, Corda, he had three children: Homer, Richard, and Victor. His granddaughter is

Lin Chambers Lin Chambers (née Hartung) is an American physical scientist. She has developed and contributed to multiple international programs around science education and citizen science at NASA Langley Research Center. Early life and education Chambe ...

References

{{authority control American pharmacologists Pharmaceutical scientists 20th-century American chemists United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I University of Minnesota alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Temple University faculty Merck & Co. people University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Virginia Commonwealth University faculty Academics from Minnesota Scientists from Minnesota 1895 births People from Martin County, Minnesota 1961 deaths Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science