Arthur Stoll facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arthur Stoll
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| Born | 8 January 1887 |
| Died | 13 January 1971 (aged 84) |
| Alma mater | ETH Zurich |
| Awards | Marcel Benoist Prize (1942) Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
Arthur Stoll was a very important Swiss biochemist. He was born on January 8, 1887, and passed away on January 13, 1971. He made many discoveries that helped create new medicines.
Contents
Arthur Stoll's Early Life and Studies
Arthur Stoll's father was a teacher and a school principal. Arthur decided to study chemistry at ETH Zurich. This is a very famous university in Switzerland.
He earned his PhD degree in 1911. During his studies, he worked with a well-known chemist named Richard Willstätter.
Research on Plants and Chemistry
In 1912, Arthur Stoll became a research assistant. He worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin. He continued to work with Richard Willstätter there.
They studied how chlorophyll works in plants. Chlorophyll is what makes plants green. They learned how it helps plants use carbon to grow. This process is called carbon assimilation.
Becoming a Professor and Company Leader
In 1917, Arthur Stoll became a chemistry professor. He taught at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. In the same year, he started working at Sandoz. Sandoz is a big chemical company in Basel, Switzerland. Today, it is part of Novartis.
He became the head of their medicine department. Later, he became the president of Sandoz from 1949 to 1956. He was also the Director and President of the Board until 1964.
Developing New Medicines
Arthur Stoll and his team at Sandoz created many ways to make new drugs. They were able to get important substances from plants.
- They were the first to get ergot alkaloids. These are compounds found in a fungus. They include ergotamine and ergobasine. These are used to treat migraines.
- They also isolated cardiac glycosides. These are used as medicine for heart diseases.
- He also helped create a way to make soluble calcium salts.
- He worked with another famous scientist, Albert Hofmann.
Arthur Stoll's Personal Interests
Besides his science work, Arthur Stoll also loved art. He collected modern art paintings. Some of these were by the artist Ferdinand Hodler.
Awards and Recognition
Arthur Stoll received many honors for his important work.
- He was a member of the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina.
- He was a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- He was also a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.
- In 1959, he received the Paul Karrer Gold Medal.
