Emil Fischer was a professor of chemistry for forty years who also served as director of the German chemical industries during World War I. Fischer's research on important organic substances such as sugars, enzymes, and proteins, built the foundation for modern biochemistry. He was the scientist who initially described the action of enzymes as a lock and key mechanism where the structure of an enzyme fits exactly into the molecule with which it reacts to "unlock" a biochemical reaction. In 1902 he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his laboratory synthesis of sugars and purine, a substance found naturally in all deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Fischer was dedicated to academic research and was among the first scientists in the world to promote substantial industrial as well as governmental support for university laboratories.
Emil Hermann Fischer was born on October 9, 1852 in Euskirchen, Germany, near Bonn and Cologne. With five older sisters, he was the only son of Laurenz Fischer and Julie Poensgen Fischer. His father was a successful businessman who started as a grocer, then added a wool spinning mill and a brewery as he prospered. Fischer described his youth as happy in his unfinished autobiography, Aus meinem Leben (Out of my Life). Fischer was a brilliant student, graduating in 1869 at the top of his class from the Gymnasium (high school) of Bonn. After graduation, Fischer tried working in business with an uncle, but he was much more interested in building a laboratory. He entered the University of Bonn in the spring of 1871.
Follows a Master Chemist to a Lifelong Career
After less than a year at the University of Bonn, Fischer transferred to Strasbourg where he studied under the noted chemist, Adolf Baeyer. Fischer's creativity flourished in the academic atmosphere of Strasbourg; he especially noted in his autobiography the accessibility of his professors, and the opportunities to travel and visit other chemical laboratories. For his doctorate Fischer did research on fluorescein, a coal tar dye that shows a fine yellow-green fluorescence in solution, and is used to trace water through systems. Fischer's researches into coal, coal tar, and the synthesis of organic chemicals, did much to build the German dye industry. Dyes manufactured in Germany soon captured the world market.
Expands Research
Fischer received his doctoral degree in 1874 from Strasbourg, but he continued his research on coal tar dyes with a cousin, Otto Philipp Fischer, until 1878. Ultimately he acquired a number of patents for industrially useful chemicals. In 1875 Fischer was invited to follow Baeyer to the University of Munich where Fischer became associate professor of analytical chemistry in 1879. His researches included the discovery of a new compound, phenylhydrazine, a chemical he later used extensively in research on sugars. By 1878 he figured out the chemical formula for phenylhydrazine, and this discovery stimulated other researches leading to the development of such synthetic drugs as novocaine. In 1881 Fischer began investigations into a new field, purine chemistry (part of a group of nucleic acids), identifying three amino acids and synthesizing many more. This research resulted in many more advances in the German drug industry.
Fischer left in 1882 to accept the position of professor of chemistry at the University of Erlangen, near Nuremberg. At Erlangen, Fischer continued his work on purines and began to study carbohydrates in 1884. His subsequent work with phenylhydrazine in an unventilated laboratory caused him to suffer the effects of phenylhydrazine poisoning which attacks the kidney, liver, and respiratory system. Fischer had, from an early age, periodically suffered from stomach disorders; the added contamination to phenylhydrazine made him extremely ill. Upon his recovery in 1885 he accepted a chair in Würzburg, where, he wrote in his autobiography, "gaiety and humor flourished." In 1888 Fischer married Agnes Gerlach. They had three sons before she died in 1895. While Fischer was at Würzburg he was honored with a Bavarian medal.
Berlin Brings World Recognition and a Nobel Prize
In 1892 Fischer accepted the position of professor in charge of the chemistry department at the University of Berlin, the most prestigious position for an academic chemist in Germany at that time. He was offered full freedom in the construction of a new building at the chemical institute of Berlin, and his subsequent design of a well-ventilated laboratory became a model for university laboratories all over the world. In addition, his teaching methods led to the formation of small groups of students involved in basic scientific research. With the help of his cooperative teams of students, and fellow researchers from many countries, he designed a careful plan for each research project. As the work progressed he always looked for deviations from the expected results. Each unusual occurrence was researched systematically to its conclusion. This strategy permanently influenced both graduate education in chemistry and the expectations of universities for research and publication from their professors worldwide.
Fischer's researches into sugar and purines had proven especially successful. He synthesized about one hundred and thirty purines, which included caffeine, theophylline (used in the preparation of the motion sickness drug Dramamine), and uric acid. In addition, after studying the three-dimensional shapes of sugar molecules, Fischer synthesized glucose as well as about thirty other sugars. By 1899 Fischer finished most of his work on sugars and purines and began research on proteins and enzymes in an effort to identify their chemical nature. Fischer was elected to membership in the Academy of Sciences, and, in 1902, he received the Nobel Prize "for his synthesis in the groups of sugars and purine," as quoted by Eduard Farber in Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry. In 1909 he received the Helmholtz Medal for his work on sugar and protein chemistry.
Fischer believed in basic research. Determined to keep the preeminent position of world leader in chemical research for Germany, a position he did much to create, he gathered support from industry, government, and other scientists to establish a number of research institutes--the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Sciences, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin-Dahlem, and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research in Mulheim-Ruhr. Fischer was interested in research in every branch of chemistry. As director of the University of Berlin laboratories he started a radiochemistry laboratory where, years after his death, scientists Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner worked on research that led to the fission of uranium and the ultimate development of the atomic bomb.
Makes Major Contribution to German War Effort
World War I took Fischer away from most of his experimental investigations as he redirected his research concentrations toward the war effort. Besides being the leading chemist in Germany, he had long worked closely with industry and government. The British blockade would have brought the defeat of Germany by 1915 had Fischer and his colleagues not succeeded in using the resources they had to synthesize much of what they could no longer get on the world market. He led the development of synthetic saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and nitric acid, both used in the manufacture of explosives. As food became in short supply he coordinated research and production of synthetic fertilizers. Fischer directed research to replace diminishing supplies of camphor (used to stabilize gunpowder) and pyrites which supplied sulfur for explosives.
Before World War I scientists had enjoyed the freedom to travel and communicate with other scientists regardless of political differences and skirmishes between their respective countries. However, World War I brought a change. Scientists became national resources. Fischer ended his long friendship with British chemist, Sir William Ramsay, also a Nobel laureate. But research alone could not win the war, and not all of Fischer's projects were successful. It was obvious to Fischer that Germany would be defeated. In an effort to organize the rebuilding of chemical research and industry in Germany to gain back the leadership it had before the war, Fischer and a friend made plans to form the German Society for the Advancement of Chemical Instruction.
The war years were personally tragic for Fischer. He lost his two younger sons, which left him depressed, and he was suffering from cancer. Emil Fischer died in Berlin, July 15, 1919. Some reports say he died of cancer, most say it was suicide. His remaining son, Hermann Otto Laurenz Fischer (1888-1960) went on to become a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of California in Berkeley. On October 9, 1952, Fischer's son dedicated the Emil Fischer Library at the University of California which is the repository of the collected works of Fischer, including the manuscript for his autobiography, research files, and Fischer's correspondences in World War I.
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