Leopold Ruzicka

Leopold RuzickaCroatian Chemist & Nobel laureate

1Leopold RuzickaBorn as Lavoslav Stjepan Ruzicka on September 13, 1887 in Vukovar, CroatiaA small Croatian town that was part of Austria-Hungary at the time.His great-grandparents included a Czech citizenWhere his last name comes fromTwo great-grandparents included an Upper Austrian and his wifeOthers were from CroatiaAll of his ancestors were artisans or farmersHad only a few years of schoolingHis father was CroatianHis mother was German

Ruzickas ParentsHis father was a cooperA person who makes or repairs casks and barrelsLived with his father for his early childhood.His fathers home is now a national landmark in Croatia. Leopold Ruzickas childhood homeMoving back with his motherMoved back with his mother after the early death of his father in 1891 in Osijek.It was here that he attended primary school where only the Croatian language was used.He was regarded as a bright pupil but was only interested in physics and mathematics. He never studied Chemistry but decided to pursue this at the university level out of his interest in understanding the composition of natural products.

Ruzickas father house in Croatia

SchoolingAfter attending secondary school in Osijek, Croatia, Ruzicka went on to study at Technische Hoschschule at Darlsruhe, Germany in 1906Wanted to study at Zurich Polytechnic InstituteDecided not to because he didnt want to take an entrance examHe never studied chemistry before this time.He went on to work with ketenes with Hermann Staudinger for his doctoral work.

Post college careerAfter two years of research Ruzicka was a Dipl. Ing and was Dr. Ing after just two weeks.Staudinger then appointed Ruzicka as his assistant and they started work on the unexplored field of active constituents of Dalmatian insect powder.They later named them pyrethrinsIn October 1912, Staudinger became Richard Willsttters successor at the Eidgenssische Technische Hochschule, or the Federal Institute of Technology for the Swiss.Ruzicka followed Staudinger to Switzerland and enjoyed the peaceful environment so much that he aquired Swiss citizenship in 1917.

Independent researchIn 1916, Ruzicka began his own independent research.He was able to work on his research almost for the full day with only one hour of teaching weekly from 1918 onward. Starting in 1916, Ruzicka began working with perfume companies. Specifically Haarman & Reimer the oldest perfume manufactures in the world in Germany.The collaboration between the two resulted in the total synthesis of fenchone.The extension and interpretation of the Wagner rearrangement Which was introduced by Ruzicka

Independent researchThe firm Ciba in Basle became interested in Ruzickas work on the preparation of quinine-like compounds.With the help of several co-workers, Ruzicka was able to synthesize b-collidine and linalool.Also the partial synthesis of pineneA series of investigations in the monoterpene field were carried out

Independent researchIn 1921, Geneva perfume manufacturers Chuit, Naef & Firmenich ask for Ruzickas collaboration.As a result of this, Ruzicka foundThe constitutional formulas of the higher terpenesWhich had already started.The total syntheses of nerolidol and farnesol.Determined the structure of jasmoneWorked on the isoprene rule,Most importantly, deduced the structures of naturally occuring musk perfumes, civetone and muscone.From these strucutures, Ruzicka and his co-workers were able to prepare a series of alicyclic ketones with 9 to 30 carbon member rings, which were thought to be impossible to exist in nature.Here is a video describing how terpenes can form steroids, which Ruzicka helped discover.

From Terpenes to Steroids

Later in LifeAfter all of these discoveries, Ruzicka took 1925-1926 off to be with friends in Geneva.He then became an organic chemistry professor at the University of Utrecht.He left Holland to return to the ETH in Zurich.Strength of organic chemical industry drew him to ZurichMainly the pharaceutical and perfumery branches were of interest to Ruzicka.In 1930, Ciba renewed his contract for the laboratory.This joining led to scientifically and industrially important successes in the field of male sex hormones.In 1937 the Rockefeller Foundation provided financial backing for Ruzickas group to study triterpenes and steroids.Honors and AccoladesHolds 8 honorary doctorates4 in science2 in medicine1 in natural sciences1 in law7 prizes and medals24 honorary memberships of chemical, biochemical, and other scientific societies.Received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1939Married Anna Hausmann in 1912Gertrud Acklin in 1951

After the Nobel PrizeAfter receiving the Nobel Prize in ChemistryRuzicka continued to work for the EHT until 1957During World War IIHe founded the Swiss-Yugoslav Relief SocietyThis group worked to rescue Jewish scientists from Nazi GermanyHe became politically activeProtested against the accumulation of atomic weapons.Leopold Ruzicka died just over a week after turning 89 in 1976.Here is a video showing more pictures relating to the life of Leopold Ruzicka. The video is in Croatian, but still provides authentic video from Ruzickas life.References(2011). Lavoslav (Leopold) Ruzicka (1887-1976). Retrieved from http://chemgeneration.com/chemists/lavoslav-%28leopold%29-ruzicka-%281887-1976%29.html(2014). Leopold Ruzicka. Retrieved from http://www.nndb.com/people/427/000100127/The Nobel Foundation. (1936). Leopold Ruzicka-Biographical. Retrieved from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1939/ruzicka-bio.html(2014). Leopold Ruzicka-Vukovar, Croatia-Childhood homes. Retrieved from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM7VW0_Leopold_Ruzicka_Vukovar_CroatiaKahn Acadamy. (2013, Sept. 18). From terpenes to steroids part 1: Terpenes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az9B_TzSnlE