Traugott Sandmeyer

Traugott Sandmeyer ( born September 15, 1854 in Wettingen, † April 9, 1922 in Zollikon ) was a Swiss chemist. The still important Sandmeyer reaction was named after him. He collaborated with then- sizes of chemical research as Victor Meyer or Arthur Hantzsch, but itself has never been a chemistry diploma acquired. A total of 66 patents bear Sandmeyer.

Life

Sandmeyer was born the last of seven children. In Aarau, he attended the district school and went on to complete in Zurich the doctrine as a precision mechanic. Through his friend Gustav J. Schmidt, who studied chemistry at the ETH Zurich, he came into contact with the natural sciences. In his kitchen, he experimented in the self-study and supplied by its observations, the topic of the doctoral thesis of his friend over the action of aldehyde to furfural.

In 1882 Victor Meyer him as a lecture assistant to the technical- chemical Institute of the ETH. In fertile research discovered the two inter alia, the synthesis of thiophene. 1884 discovered the Sandmeyer reaction named after him. A year later, the then 36 -year-old Victor Meyer was appointed to Göttingen and was able to convince to join him for a semester as an assistant Sandmeyer. These Meyer wrote: For me this was almost a question of life, or at least a question for my health.

Sandmeyer married in 1892, his step- niece Mina Billeter from Männedorf, from the marriage but no children were born.

After his return to Zurich Sandmeyer first worked for Arthur Hantzsch at ETH. For a monthly wage of CHF 300 - but he soon moved to Basel in the distinguished company Geigy (now Novartis) to work from January 1, 1901 also on the board of this company.

In the course of his research Sandmeyer twice received honorary doctorates. Heidelberg 1891, ETH Zurich, 1915 After 31 years at Geigy he retired in 1919 from working life back. He lived the rest of his life in Zollikon in Zurich, where he in 1922 at the age of 68 years died of a heart condition.

Legacy

The Swiss Chemical Society (SCS ) gives the Sandmeyer Prize for outstanding work in a field of industrial or applied chemistry at a work team or an individual.

The Traugott Sandmeyer Foundation was set up to allow students of chemistry in Basel affordable accommodation. She bought a house on the Socinstrasse in Basel and made it the dormitory Traugott Sandmeyer.