Theodor Wertheim

Theodor Wertheim (December 25, 1820 – July 6, 1864) was an Austrian chemist born in Vienna. He was the father of gynecologist Ernst Wertheim (1864-1920).

Theodor Wertheim
Born	December 25, 1820 Vienna, Austrian Empire
Died	July 6, 1864 (aged 43) Vienna, Austrian Empire
Nationality	Austrian

He studied organic chemistry in Berlin as a pupil of Eilhard Mitscherlich, and in 1843 travelled to the University of Prague, where he studied under Josef Redtenbacher.[1][2] He served as privatdozent in Vienna, and from 1853 to 1860, was a professor at the University of Pest. From 1861 onward, he was a professor at the University of Graz. In May 1864, he moved back to Vienna, where he died soon afterwards.

In 1848 he became a corresponding member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences.[1]

In 1844 Wertheim distilled a pungent substance from garlic, naming it "allyl".[3] In his research, he noticed the close relationship between garlic oil and mustard oil.[4][5] He published a number of studies on garlic oil, piperine, quinine and coniine in Liebig’s Annalen der Chemie.

References

• Carl Oppenheimer (1897), "Theodor Wertheim", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 42, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, p. 111
• biography @ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie

1. {Statement based on translated text from an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia.
2. Redtenbacher Josef @ Austrian Biographical Encyclopaedia 1815-1950 (ÖBL). Volume 9.
3. Ernst Wertheim @ Who Named It
4. The Volatile Oils by Eduard Gildemeister, Friedrich Hoffmann, Edward Kremers
5. Theodor Wertheim: About the relationship between mustard oil and garlic oil, Annalen der Chemie and Pharmacie 55/3 (1845) 297-304.

Bibliography

• Johannes Uray, Organische Chemie in chemischer Forschung und Lehre an österreichischen Universitäten zwischen 1840 und 1870. In: Bericht über den 25. Österreichischen Historikertag in St. Pölten 2008. St. Pölten 2010, S 402-427.