Rudolf Nietzki

Rudolf Hugo Nietzki
Rudolf Nietzki
Born	(1847-03-09)9 March 1847 Heilsberg, East Prussia (nowLidzbark Warmiński,Poland)
Died	28 September 1917(1917-09-28)(aged 70) Neckargemünd,Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Nationality	German
Occupation	Chemist

Rudolf Hugo Nietzki(9 March 1847 – 28 September 1917) was a German chemist who specialized in industrial dyes derived fromcoal tar. While a professor at theUniversity of Baselin Switzerland he initiated the university's association with to the local chemical industry.

Life

Rudolf Hugo Nietzki was born on 9 March 1847 in Heilsberg, East Prussia (nowLidzbark Warmiński,Poland) to a Protestant family. His father was Carl Johann Emil Nietzki, a priest, rector and writer. He attended theKönigsberggymnasium (secondary school), which he left before graduating, then began training as a pharmacist. He studied pharmacy in Zinten (nowKornevo,Kaliningrad, Russia) and Kreuzburg, Silesia (nowKluczbork,Poland). In 1865 he qualified as an assistant. He worked as a pharmacist in Hirschberg, Silesia, where he metPaul Ehrlich,who later invented chemotherapy.

Nietzki attended theUniversity of Berlinfrom 1867 to 1870, where he studied pharmacy. He served as a military pharmacist during theFranco-Prussian Warof 1870–71, then returned to the university. Nietzki sat theStaatsexamento qualify as a pharmacist in 1871, and served as the private assistant of the chemistAugust Wilhelm von Hofmann(1818–92). In 1874 he received his PhD in theUniversity of Göttingen. After graduating Nietzki worked as an analyst in the sulfuric acid and soda factory of Matthes & Weber inDüsseldorf. From 1876 he was assistant to Antoine Paul Nicolas Franchimont (1844–1919) atLeiden University. In 1879 he began to work for Kalle & Co. inBiebrich, Rhineland Palatinate. In a letter toHeinrich Carothat year Nietski wrote of his position with this dye company, "I have my own small but nice laboratory and nothing to do with the manufacturing; moreover I shall have the same position as you have in Ludwigshafen: That of an inventor!"

In 1880 Nietzki married Minna Bickerle. He moved toBasel,Switzerland, where he worked for Geigy. Nietzki studied for hishabilitationunder the Swiss chemistJules Piccard(1840–1933) in 1884 at theUniversity of Basel. He was appointed Associate Professor of Chemistry at Basel in 1887. In 1888 Nietzki wrote a highly regarded textbook on organic dyes. In 1895 he became Professor of Chemistry. Nietzki specialized in industrially useful dyes, and initiated the University of Basel's association with the chemical industry. He worked in his private laboratory, subsidized by the state, in the Kleinbasel ice factory. He was assisted byFriedrich Fichteras inorganic chemist andHans Rupeas organic chemist. Nietzki resigned due to illness in 1911. He was made Professor Emeritus by the university. He died on 28 September 1917 inNeckargemünd,Baden-Württemberg.

Work

Nietzki played a leading role in the development of a new class of synthetic dyes derived fromcoal tar. He made his name through his work onquinonederivatives andazo dyes. In 1876 he analyzed the synthetic dyeAnilinschwarz(Anilineblack). In 1877 he discovered that indamine dyes were formed in the oxidative coupling of p-diamines and monoamines. He synthesized nitranil acid and developed a simple method for the preparation ofp-benzoquinone. In 1878 he created "Biebrich scarlet"the first tetra azo dye. While working at Kalle & Co. Nietzki recognized thatRaphael Meldola's synthetic dye, Meldola's Blue, was a member of theoxazineclass.

Publications

• R. Nietzki; Th. Benckiser (1885)."Ueber Hexaoxybenzolderivate und ihre Beziehungen zur Krokonsäure und Rhodizonsäure".Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft.18:499–515.doi:10.1002/cber.188501801110.
• R. Nietzki (1888).Chemie der Organischen Farbstoffe.5th edition in 1906. Berlin: Verlag von Julius Springer.
• Rudolf Nietzki (2008).Chemistry of the Organic Dyestuffs.translated by A. Collin and W. Richardson. Nachdruck als Taschenbuch: Verlag BiblioBazaar.ISBN978-1110018376.

Sources

• Charpa, Ulrich; Deichmann, Ute (2007-01-01).Jews and Sciences in German Contexts: Case Studies from the 19th and 20th Centuries.Mohr Siebeck.ISBN978-3-16-149121-4.Retrieved2015-10-13.
• "Die Anfänge des Fachs Chemie an der Universität Basel"(in German). University of Basel. 2010.Retrieved2015-10-12.
• Kurz, Martin (2010-03-06)."Nietzki, Rudolf".Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz(in German). Bern.Retrieved2015-10-12.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Reinhardt, Carsten; Travis, Anthony S. (2013-06-29).Heinrich Caro and the Creation of Modern Chemical Industry.Springer Science & Business Media.ISBN978-94-015-9353-3.Retrieved2015-10-13.
• Schwarz, Holm-Dietmar (1999)."Nietzki, Rudolf Hugo".Neue Deutsche Biographie(in German). Vol. 19.Retrieved2015-10-12.