Abstract
PROF. L. RUZICKA, of Zürich, delivered the third Pedler Lecture to the Chemical Society on March 10, his subject being “The Life and Work of Otto Wallach”. Prof. Wallach, whose outstanding contribution to organic chemistry was his pioneer work on the terpene series, was born in Königsberg on March 27, 1847, the son of a Prussian official. His early education was on classical lines, and in addition he had a lifelong interest in the contemplation of art. In 1867 he began his chemical studies in Göttingen under the direction of Wöhler and his assistants, Fittig and Hübner. In the atmosphere of industry which was there cultivated, Wallach obtained his doctor's degree after five semesters of study, his dissertation dealing with position isomerism in the toluene series. After a short period in Berlin as assistant to Wichelhaus, he accepted in 1870 an assistantship at Bonn, offered to him by Kekulé. The period at Bonn, which lasted for nineteen years, was interrupted for a short time when he went to Berlin as the sole chemist to a newly founded enterprise which later developed under the name “Aktiengesellschaft für Anilinfabrikation” (Agfa). In 1889 Wallach was called to Göttingen as successor to Victor Meyer, and retained the direction of the Chemical Institute until 1915. In 1908 he was elected an honorary member of the Chemical Society, and in 1909 received an honorary doctorate of the University of Manchester. The Nobel prize for chemistry was awarded to him in 1910. Wallach died on Feb. 26, 1931, having made such contribution to organic chemistry that any attempt to picture the science with Wallach's work removed would unmistakably disclose a severe gap.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Third Pedler Lecture of the Chemical Society. Nature 129, 428 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129428a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129428a0