Interconnections and Independence: Heinrich Wieland (1877–1957) and His Era

Abstract

The dramatic societal upheavals and radical value shifts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century influenced every aspect of life, including the scientific and research systems. A biography of Heinrich Wieland, awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1927, one embedded in a chronicle of the times, shows clearly how this one individual adapted to multiple drastic changes in his environment.

Krieg der Chemiker

“…Die deutschen Soldaten waren anfangs lediglich mit Mullkissen ausgerüstet, die mit Natriumthiosulfat-und Sodalösung getränkt waren und vor Mund und Nase gehalten werden mussten, um die Wirkung des Chlors zu neutralisieren (Abbildung 21). Erst ab Herbst 1915, ein halbes Jahr [28] und Heinrich Wieland (Chemie-Nobelpreis 1927) zählten [29]. Die meisten Wissenschaftler hatten keine größeren Skrupel, Kriegsforschung zu betreiben.…”

Cholesterol chemistry and laboratory synthesis

“…The steroid nucleus proposed by Wieland in his Nobel lecture presented some limitations. In 1932, however, his research group corrected it to the skeleton known nowadays (Vaupel, 2007). The research in steroids by Konrad Bloch and Feodor Lynen granted them the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1964, for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism.…”