Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus

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Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus

Born December 25, 1876
Berlin
Died June 9, 1959 (aged 82)
Göttingen
Residence Germany
Nationality German
Fields organic chemistry
biochemistry
Doctoral students Adolf Butenandt
Notable awards Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1928)

Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus (December 25, 1876June 9, 1959) was a German chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1928 for his work on sterols and their relation to vitamins. He was the doctoral advisor of Adolf Butenandt who also won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1939.

Adolf Windaus was born in Berlin. His interest in chemistry was raised by lectures of Emil Fischer. He started studying medicine and chemistry in Berlin and later in Freiburg. He got his phd in early 1900 and focused on cholesterol and other sterols at the University of Freiburg. In 1913 he became professor for chemistry at the University of Innsbruck but already in 1915 he changed to the University of Göttingen where he stayed until his retirement in 1944.

7-Dehydrochlolesterol
7-Dehydrochlolesterol
vitamin D3
vitamin D3

He was involved in the discovery of the transformation of cholesterol through several steps to vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol). He gave his patents to Merck and Bayer and they brang out the medical Vigantol in 1927[1].

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[edit] References

  1. ^ Haas, Jochen (2007). "[Vigantol--Adolf Windaus and the history of vitamin D]". Wurzbg Medizinhist Mitt 26: 144-81. PMID 18354894. 
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