Leopold Rügheimer

Leopold Rügheimer (May 5, 1850 - May 24, 1917) was a notable German chemist whose name is connected to the Staedel-Rügheimer pyrazine synthesis, a reaction that was discovered by himself and Wilhelm Staedel. Rügheimer was born in Walldorf (near Meiningen) in 1850 as the son of a merchant. He studied at the universities of Leipzig, Würzburg and Tübingen. He died in Kiel in 1917 after a successful academic career.

Career

Rügheimer's professional career:

Scientific contributions:

* Published an article together with Wilhelm Staedel concerning the synthesis of pyrazines by reacting α-haloketones with ammonia. This procedure is now known as the Staedel-Rügheimer pyrazine synthesis.
* First synthesis of tropic acid in 1880, together with Albert Ladenburg.
* First synthesis of piperine (1882).

ee also

*Staedel-Rügheimer pyrazine synthesis

References

*W Pötsch. "Lexikon bedeutender Chemiker" (VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig, 1989) (ISBN 3-323-00185)
*E von Lippmann. "Zeittafeln zur Geschichte der organischen Chemie" (Julius Springer, 1921)
*A J Humphrey, D O'Hagan. "Tropane alkaloid biosynthesis. A century old problem unresolved." "Nat. Prod. Rep." 18 (2001) 494-502 (DOI|10.1039/b001713m)