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Richard Willstätter
Chemist

Richard Willstätter

Famoose for

Determining the chemistry of chlorophyll and other plant pigments.

Chlorophyll · Gas-mask filters

Born
13 August 1872
Birthplace
Karlsruhe
Died
3 August 1942

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Richard Willstätter

Richard Willstätter was a German organic chemist awarded the 1915 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his investigation of plant pigments.

Early life

Education

Studied chemistry in Munich and completed his doctorate with Alfred Einhorn in 1894.

Career

  1. 1905

    Zurich

    Became a professor at ETH Zurich and researched chlorophyll.

  2. 1912

    Berlin

    Joined the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry.

  3. 1915

    Nobel Prize

    Recognised for plant-pigment research.

  4. 1916

    Munich

    Returned to succeed Adolf von Baeyer.

Contributions

Chlorophyll

Established that chlorophyll contains two related compounds, a and b.

Gas-mask filters

Helped develop filters during the First World War.

Beyond research

Exile

Escaped Nazi Germany for Switzerland in 1939 and wrote his autobiography there.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.