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Tadeusz Reichstein
Thadeus Reichstein ETH-Bib Portr 10137.jpg
Born 20 July 1897
Włocławek, Congress Poland
Died August 1, 1996(1996-08-01) (aged 99)
Nationality Polish, Swiss
Citizenship Switzerland
Known for cortisone
Awards Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1950

Tadeusz Reichstein (born July 20, 1897 – died August 1, 1996) was a brilliant scientist. He was a Polish-born Swiss chemist and botanist. He also won a Nobel Prize, which is a very important award.

Tadeusz was born in a town called Włocławek in Poland. When he was a young child, his family moved to Kiev. His father worked there as an engineer. Tadeusz started his schooling in Jena, Germany.

Discovering Vitamin C

In 1933, Tadeusz Reichstein was working in Zürich, Switzerland. He made a big discovery there. He found a way to create vitamin C in a lab. Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid.

This method is still used today. It is even named after him, called the Reichstein process. This process helps make sure people can get enough vitamin C.

Winning the Nobel Prize

Tadeusz Reichstein worked with two other scientists. Their names were E.C. Kendall and P.S. Hench. Together, they made another amazing discovery. They found a special medicine called cortisone.

Cortisone is a very important medicine. It helps treat many different health problems. Because of this important discovery, they all won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1950.

Later Life

Tadeusz Reichstein lived a long life. He passed away in Basel, Switzerland. His work on vitamin C and cortisone changed medicine forever. The way we make vitamin C in factories still uses his special method.

See also

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