Ernst Späth

Ernst Späth German pronunciation: [ˈʔɛɐ̯nst ˈʃpɛːt] (14 May 1886, in Moravský Beroun (German: Bärn), northern Moravia – 30 September 1946, in Zurich) was an Austrian chemist, specializing in natural products.

Ernst Späth
bust in the Arkadenhof of the University of Vienna
Born(1886-05-14)14 May 1886
Moravský Beroun, Moravia
Died30 September 1946(1946-09-30) (aged 60)
Zurich, Switzerland
NationalityAustro-Hungarian, Austrian
Known forsynthesis Mescaline
AwardsLiebig Medal (1937)
Wilhelm Exner Medal (1937)
Scientific career
FieldsPhytochemistry
Doctoral advisorRudolf Wegscheider
Doctoral studentsPercy Lavon Julian
Hans Tuppy

He was the first to synthesise mescaline[1] and was one of the first to synthesize cuscohygrine on a small scale with Hans Tuppy.

He lost everything in World War II, and died with no money. His former student Percy Lavon Julian returned to Vienna, paid for his funeral, and commissioned a bust of Späth, which is still displayed in the foyer of the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna. A second cast of the bust was erected in 1961 in the Arkadenhof of the University of Vienna.

References
  1. Manske, R. H. F.; Holmes, H. L., eds. (1953), "Mescaline (3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenethylamine)", The Alkaloids, 3, Academic Press, pp. 324–8 – via Erowid.org

Biography
  • R. Werner Sonkup (2004), Die Wissenschaftliche Welt von Gestern, Wien: Böhlau, pp. 205–216, ISBN 978-3-205-77303-0

Publications
  • Ernst Späth (1919), "Über die Anhalonium-Alkaloide. I. Anhalin und Mezcalin", Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly, 40 (2): 129–154, doi:10.1007/BF01524590


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