Burckhardt Helferich
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Burckhardt Helferich was born at 10 June 1887 in Greifswald (Germany) as
son of the professor for surgery, Heinrich Helferich, and his wife
Natalie. Initially he visited the humanistic grammar school in Greifswald,
1899 he moved to Kiel, were he achieved his university-entrance diploma. Afterwards
he started to study natural sciences, particularly geology at the university of
Lausanne. However, after one term he cancelled to fulfill his military service in
Schwerin. From fall 1907 he started to study chemistry at the university of Munich
and continued after three terms in Berlin, where he received his PhD as PhD
student of Emil Fischer with the title "Synthesis of some new glucosides".
Afterwards he was privat assistant of Emil Fischer for two years, then
assistant of education of the inorganic department and later of the organic
department. Out of this term derives a series of workings about synthetic glycosides.
Following the First World War, where he participated as "Batterieführer", he
concentrated on ring-chain-tautomerism of γ- and δ-hydroxyaldehydes and
qualified in 1920 as a professor on this area. 1922 he received a call to the
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute for fiber chemistry in Berlin-Dahlem. Before he entered
this position he followed a call as professor for organic chemistry at this institute
of the university of Frankfurt am Main leaded by Julius von Braun. After
three years he changed as successor of Rudolf Pummerer to the university of
Greifswald an became headmaster of the institute of chemistry.
In 1930 Helferich followed the call as successor of Arthur Hantzsch to Leipzig.
After 15 years as leader of the chemical institute he was brought to Weilburg (Lahn)
by the american occupying forces. In the end of 1945 he became visiting professor
at the university of Bonn and 1947 he succeeded Paul Pfeiffer there. In the academic year 1951/52 he became dean of the mathematical-natural scientific faculty and 1954/55 rector of the University of Bonn. Between 1953 and 1955 he belonged to the directorate of the German Chemical Society and from 1956-1957 he was the president. For his activities the Emil-Fischer-medal was accorded to him in 1951 and in 1957 the "Große Verdienstkreuz" of the Federal Republic of Germany. Furthermore he was accorded with honorableness Dr.-Ing. h.c. of the technical university of Stuttgart and the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften as well as the Leopoldina in Halle elected him to their member. At 5 July 1982 Burckhardt Helferich passed away soon after his 95th birthday. |
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Research interests: ... |
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Last Update: 10.06.2009 Impressum |
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