Karl Ziegler had a long and distinguished career in diverse areas of chemistry. Although he is considered an organic chemist, he applied the methods and principles of inorganic, physical, and analytical chemistry to his research problems. He thought of himself as a chemist who carried out "pure" research, but his greatest contribution was a discovery that led to a revolution in "applied" research and was of great benefit to industry. This breakthrough related to catalysts--substances that provoke a chemical reaction--and Ziegler's work became the foundation of the modern plastics industry. The discovery and application of the "Ziegler catalysts " were rewarded with lucrative licensing fees and the 1963 Nobel Prize in chemistry, which Ziegler shared with Giulio Natta, an Italian chemist who significantly extended Ziegler's work.

Ziegler was born on November 26, 1898, in Helsa, Germany, to Luise (Rall) and Karl Ziegler, a Lutheran minister. As a youth he showed an early...