Eduard Buchner was born in Munich, Germany on May 20, 1860, the same year Louis Pasteur performed his work on fermentation. Buchner's father died when Eduard was 12. His brother Hans, who became a famous bacteriologist, oversaw the boy's education. Following Army service, Eduard entered Munich Technical University to study chemistry. He was forced to withdraw because of financial hardship, and went to work in canning factories for four years. While there, he developed an interest in the fermentation process in which yeast breaks down sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

When his brother Hans was once again able to provide support, Eduard resumed his studies in 1884 and soon received a scholarship. Buchner studied chemistry under Adolf von Baeyer and as well as botany at Munich. Under his brother's guidance, he began a systematic study of alcoholic fermentation which led to Eduard's first published paper in 1885. In his paper, Buchner revealed...