Fischer, Emil

Fischer, Emil fĭshˈər [key], 1852–1919, German organic chemist. He is especially noted for his researches on the structure and synthesis of sugars and of purines and purine base derivatives, e.g., caffeine; for this work he received the 1902 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His many other valuable discoveries include a method of synthesizing polypeptides. He was an assistant of Adolf von Baeyer and was professor at the universities of Erlangen (1882–85), Würzburg (1885–92), and Berlin (from 1892).

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