Pilgrimage through the History of German Natural Science
University City Tübingen.
Kaoru Harada
Kobe Shoin Women’s College, Sinoharaobanoyama-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe-city, 657-0015, Japan
E-mail: babna800@jttk.zaq.ne.jp(Received 20 November 2001, Accepted 10 December 2001)

Introduction

published by Kanto Chemical Co. in Japanese on “TheTübingen is a city located in the southwestern part

Chemical Times” 1999 No.3, p. 18 – 23; 2000 No.3,

of Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, about

p.19 – 24.

50km south of Stüttgard, and distributed along the river
Neckar.

Tübingen has been an University town since

History of Tübingen and the University

1477, and is the economic and cultural center of thisTübingen first appears in the German history in thearea.

middle of 11th century. In the year 1078, the city wassurrounded by wall, and business section was inside theMost of the larger cities in Germany weredestroyed by bombardment during the 2nd world war,city.

however, some cities such as Tübingen, Göttingen,the right of self government in 1231. However, the city

Heidelberg and Freiburg were for the most part left

was getting weak, and the city was bought by Lord

untouched.

Württemberg in 1342.

This is because some of the American andEnglish intellectuals who studied in these German

The city of Tübingen grew steadily and obtained

Tübingen became a part of the history of Württemberg.

universities asked authorities to stop bombing theseIn 1447, Bart Eberhardt established the University

unarmed university cities.

of Tübingen.

In this area, many towns and villages including
Tübingen have “ingen” at the end of their names.

Since then, the history ofAt that time, the population of the city

was about 3,000.

After the Reformation, the city ofThe

Tübingen accepted protestantism and Lord Württemberg

railway station names between Stüttgard to Tübingen are

established “Stift” in order to strengthen the religious

as follows:leader.

Stüttgart → Esslingen (Neckar) → Oberingen –The Stift is a kind of religious college with adormitory.

The education in the Stift is said to be very

Essingen → Plochingen – Wendlingen (Neckar) →strict as described in “Unterum Rad” by Hermann Hesse.

Nurtingen → Metzingen → Rentlingen → Tübingen.

From the Stift, many intellectuals

I asked some people about the origin of theemerged andTübingen-school of protestantism was established.

The“ingen”, but they could not answer. Later I found thatfame of Tübingen came from the Stift and the University.

the towns whose name with “ingen” at the end, were

However, the “Stife” was absorbed later by the school ofestablishedphilosophy of the University.

byAllamanduringtheGermans

At the end of 16th century, J. Kepler (1571-1630)“Wandeljahre” in the beginning of the middle age.

studied mathematics and astronomy in Tübingen.

A similar article on the University City Tübingen was

During the year 1790 to 1791, G. W. F. Hegel (1770Viva Origino 29 (2001) 174- 188
C 2001 by SSOEL Japan○174

Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

1831), J. C. F. Hölderlin (1770-1848) and F. W. Schelling

loved and respected in Tübingen (Fig. 2).

(1775-1854) studied theology in Tübingen as classmates.
In the beginning of 19th century, the University of
Tübingen was operated in the traditional way as wasestablished in the middle age. University of Tübingen
established a new “Faculty of Mathematics and Natural
Sciences” in 1863.

As the city grew, the city wall

surrounding the city and city gate were removed.

The

population of the city was about 15,000 and 1,000
students attended the university.

The old university

buildings and the dormitories, which were constructed in
Fig.1. Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862) was born in
Tübingen. He studied, taught and died here. He was a
linguist, collector of folk song and legend. The bronze statue
is standing by the Uhland street near the railway station.

the middle ages, were located along the Neckar river. By
the 19th century, there was little spaces left in the oldtown, and new buildings were erected in the flat area in
the north and east district.

After the 2nd world war,

university buildings and hospitals were further expanded
to the northern hill apart from the old town.
Over the years, the city of Tübingen was
influenced by the existence of the university.
Germancitieswere industrialized andfactories were erected.

Many
Fig.2. Commemorative stamp for Uhland was issued from
DDR in 1987.

numerousIntellectuals of Tübingen
As we cross the “Ebelhard Bridge” about half way, we

refused industrialization of the city, claiming thatcan see “Hölderlinturm” at the left side.

Tübingen should be an Olympus or Athen for
academism.

The building

stands by the riverside (Fig. 3). The roof is painted

Thus we can see many remains of the pastacademism in the old town. University buildings are
spread all over the old town, with citizens living among
the university buildings.

Railroad Station to the Stift Kirche
Getting off the Tübingen Central Station, we headtowards the old town of Tübingen. The first monument
we see is the statue of Johan L. Uhland (1787-1862) on
Uhlandstrasse near the railroad station (Fig. 1). He wasFig.3. When we crossed the Eberhard bridge, we can see
Hölderlinturm standing by the river Neckar. The mentally ill
Hölderlin was brought up by the carpenter Zimmer’s family forlong years (1770-1848). Now the Hölderlinturm is a small
museum for him.

a linguist, poet, and collector of traditional folk songs
and legends. He was born, worked, taught and died in
Tübingen.

His thought was liberal and he has been

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Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

black, and the wall is yellow in color. The building(10 years?), when I was going up to the Bell Tower, inwith the green tree and the blue sky is reflected by thethe dark, suddenly the Bell started to ring loudly. I wasriver surface.

really surprised what was happened in the dark.

As a whole, the scenery is arguably one of the best

scenery from the Bell Tower was beautiful (Fig. 7).

photographic objects in Tübingen.

This is the Tower that astronomer Mastrin, teacher ofAfter Hölderline

became mentally ill, he was taken care of the carpenter

The

Kepler, watched stars.

Zimmer’s family for many years (1806-1845) until his
death. Hölderlin tower is now a small museum and isopen to the public (Fig. 4, 5). Under the tower, by theriverside, 3-4 wooden boats are moored. The scenery issimilar to that of river Cam in Cambridge.

Fig. 6. The bell tower of the Stift Kirche is a nice place towatch old town.

Fig.4. A small bronze plaque for Hölderlin (1770-1843)
is near the Hölderlin tower..

Fig. 7. The scenery from the bell tower was beautiful.
Most of the houses in the old town have orange roofs andwhite walls. It was said that Kepler’s teacher Mastlinobserved stars from this bell tower.

Holzmarkt, Alte-AulaOn the north side of the “Stift Kirche”, there isFig. 5. Johann Christina Friedrich Hölderlin, 1770- 1843
(Ther postage stamp was issued in 1993 by BRD).

“Poseidon’s Fountain”. Close to the fountain there is“Heckenheimer” bookstore, where Hermann Hesse

Crossing the bridge, and turning to the left, there
worked for few years in his young days.
stands Stift Kirche.

A bronzeThis is a protestant church,plaque is at the entrance, and Hesse’s photograph is on

however, we can come in to see inside. Some years ago
the shelve. I wanted to take picture of Hesse’s portrait
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Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

in the bookstore. I asked the man who belongs to thebuilding beautiful.

bookstore, “May I take picture?” He said “Nein!” He

in 1547, and later (1777) reconstructed in the lateunderstood my words as “May I take away the Hesse’s

baroque style.

photograph?”, my words literally meant so, and I tried

research building.

again in German “Darf ich es photographieren”, andKepler, Hegel and Schelling exist in the “Alte Aula”,

received his permission, and took some pictures (Fig. 8).

however, I have not been able to find them.

The building was first constructed

The “Alte Aula” is now used as a
I have heard that the portraits ofPassing the “Alte Aula”, we take a narrow roadcalled Burggasse, and we can see Evanglish Stift at theleft side.

The Stift is a religious school to educate

protestant elite.

Various intellectuals emerged from theStift. In addition to the religious people, philosopher(Hegel, Schering), literacy (Hölderlin, Mörike, Hauf)and scientist have emerged from this school.

On the way to the Schloss
The castle in Tübingen stands high above the city
Fig. 8. Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) worked for few
years in the “Heckenhauer” bookstore. A bronze
plaque is on the upper part of the entrance, and his
photograph is on the book shelf.

by the Neckar, and is called Hohenstaufenschloss
Tübingen.

We follow the narrow road (Burgsteige) tothe castle, and we pass by an old bar called
When we pass through the small Platz (Holzmarkt), and“Schlosskeller” on the left side. Small bronze plaque isturn to the left, there is an old University building calledon the upper part of the entrance.

“Alte Aula” (Fig. 9).

Michael Mastlin (1550-1631), who is a teacher of J.

This was the main building of the

The plaque is for

Kepler (1571-1630)(Fig. 10, 11).

old university.

Fig. 10.

Fig. 9. “Alte Aula” was the main building of the old university,
which was constructed in the middle of this 16th century andreconstructed in 1777 in this style. The Alte Aula with red
roof and yellow wall is beautiful. The old building is now
used for research institute.

Fig. 11.
Fig. 10, 11. On the way to the Castle, there is a bar named“Schlosskeller”. The small plaque is on the entrance. The
plaque says “Astronomer J.Kepler’s teacher Michael Mastlin
lived in this house”. However, the plaque is too small to read.

The yellow wall and red-orange colored roof make the177Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

Mastlin believed in a heliocentric structure of theplanetary system, and he taught mathematics andastronomy to young Kepler. He studied (1589-1594)
first at the Stift to became a churchman, but later he wasinterested in the physical sciences and became an
astronomer (Fig. 12).

As a result Kepler met a goodteacher, and Mastlin had a good stdent.
Fig. 14. The rectangular Hof of the castle is wide, but only afountain and few trees are there. The Schloss building is now
used for research institution and for storage.

The first plaque is for physicist and astronomer J.
G. Friedrich Bohnenberger (Fig. 15). He studied from1796 to 1831 in this castle.

Fig. 12. Johannes Kepler, 1571-1630(Astronomer, stamp issued 1971 by DDR).

As we climb further up the slope , we reach theOuter Gate of the castle (Fig. 13).
in 1606.

The Gate was built

This is a beautiful construction withdecorative sculptures.

We go through the Outer Gate

Fig. 15. The plaque is for J. G. Friedrich Bohnenberger,
Astronomer, physiker and mathematiker. He worked in thisSchloss for 1796-1831 as a professor of University of
Tübingen.

and we reach Schlosshof (large square place in the
castle). At the present time, the building is used for
We see plates such as

The second plaque is for Julius Eugen Schlossberger“Uhland Institute” and “Institute für Prehistorische

who studied physiological problems between 1846 andForschung”. On the wall of the Schloss Hof, there are1860 (Fig. 16). He is one of the founders of biological

three plaques dedicating scientists.

chemistry.

research institution (Fig. 14).

Fig. 16. Under the plaque of Hoppe-Seyler, there is aplaque of Julius Eugen Schlossberger. He is a founderof Physiological Chemistry at the University of
Tübingen and he worked here between 1846-1860.

Fig. 13. If we follow the slope to the Castle (Schloss
Hohentübingen), we reach the outer gate which wasconstructed in 1606. The outer gate decorative is interesting
as construction with sculptures rather than a part of fortress.

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Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

The third plaque is for Felix Hoppe-Seyler (1825-1895)(studied here 1861-1872) (Fig. 17).
displayedcommemorating

If we go down the Neckarhalds, we can see J. L.

The plaque was

Uhland’s old house where he was born, studied and died.

100th

The memorial plate for Uhland is made of red-brown

Hoppe-Seyler’sbirthday (26 Dec 1925). Hoppe-Seyler is a pioneer ofphysiological chemistry.

He clarified the role ofhemoglobin in red blood cells.
chlorophyl.

sandstone (Fig. 19).

He also studied

He started first academic Journal of

Physiological Chemistry “Zeitschrift für Physiologische
Chemie” in 1877.

He obtained chairs at Berlin,

Tübingen and Strasbourg. He is one of the founder ofbiochemistry.

G. Hufner listed in the plaque, is theFig. 19. If we go down the Neckarhalde, we can see J. Ludwig
Uhland’s (1787-1862) haus where he was born. The plaque isa red brown sand stone. It says “In this house J. Ludwig
Uhland (1787-1862) was born in 26 Apr. 1787”.

successor of Hoppe-Seyler.

Marktplatz
On the way to “Marktplatz”, we found a plaque ofPhillip Melanchithon (1497- 1560) near “Stift” (Fig. 20).
He was a humanist who taught Greek philosophy.
Later, he contributed to protestantism as an humanist.
Fig. 17. On the south side wall of the Schloss Hof, there is aplaque for Felix Hoppe-Seyler (1825-1895). The plaque was
erected for Hoppe-Seyler’s 100th anniversary (1925). He
studied here 1861-1872, then he moved to Strasburg. Gustav
Hufner was the successor of Hoppe-Seyler, and studied here
1872-1885.

His original family name was “Schwarzerd (black soil)”,and he called himself “Melanchithon” in Latin.

The scenery from the castle is just as beautiful asthat from the Bell Tower of Stift Kirche (Fig. 18). Mostof the roofs of the old town were orange colored andwalls were white.

Fig. 20. Near from the Stift, we found Phillip Melanchiton’s(1497-1560) house where he lived and studied. He taught
Greek Philosophy and contributed later to protestantism as ahumanist.

Fig. 18. The scenery from the Schloss is just as beautiful as thatfrom the Bell Tower of the Stift Kirche. The scenery is acombination of three colors, orange-red roof, white house walland green color of the trees.

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Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

The old city hall in the “Markt Platz” is beautiful,
not only for its design, but also beautiful in its aged color(Fig.21). An open market is held regularly here once aweek (Fig. 22).

Fig. 23. Across the street opposite side of the Alta Aula, there isa bronze plaque of publisher Cotta. Cotta have been a famous
publisher who published well edited literary works like Goethe
and Schiller. Later the publisher moved to Stuttgart, however,
the existence of the publisher Cotta in Tubingern is very
suitable to the University town. In this plaque it describedthat Goethe stayed at Cottas house in Sep. 1797.

Fig. 21. There is a large old city hall in the Marktplatz. The
shape of the old building is not only beautiful but the old colorof the city hall is also beautiful.

Fig. 24. I found a plate “Melanchthon Schule”. The school isprobably an ordinary school for education. There are “Uhland
Schule” and “Hölderlin Schule” in this town.

Old Botanical Garden
As we approach the “Old Botanical Garden”, wefind two monuments.

One is the memorial stone(Gedenkstein) of Karl Correns (1864-1933) (Fig. 25).

Fig. 22. In the Markt Platz, open market is held regularly to sellgoods necessary for every day life.

Publisher Cotta’s plaque is in the corner of thesquare in front of the “Alte Aula” (Fig. 23). Cotta is afamous publisher since 18th century.

They publishedmany well edited books of famous authors such as
Goethe and Schiller, but are now located in Stüttgart.
Fig. 25. In the old botanical garden, memorial stone for Carl
Correns (1864-1933) who rediscovered Johann Mendel’s(1822-1884) forgotten law of heredity is there. He obtained
his seats at Leipzig, Munchen and Berlin. He died in Berlin,and his grave is in Waldfreedhof, Dahlem, Berlin.

The existence of the publisher Cotta is suitable for theuniversity town Tübingen (Fig. 24).

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He is a botanist who rediscovered the forgotten Mendel’s
law of heredity.

He obtained chairs at Tübingen,Leipzig, Münster and then Kaiser Wilhelm Institute,
Berlin. Corrense’s profile is carved on the memorialstone.

His grave is in the Wald Friedhof Dahlem,

Berlin.
The other monument is the statue of Hölderlin
made of white marble (Fig. 26). However, the statue isweathered considerably and his arms are missing.

Fig. 27. There is a “University Libray” in the right side of the“Wilhelm street”.

Ibelieve that important monuments should be brought tomuseums to avoid weathering. Destruction of memorial
statues are taking place worldwide, and appropriate
measures should be taken.

Fig. 28. Around the main building of the “University Library”,
more than a dozen portrait of famous persons are on the wall.
I would like to show you two famous persons who interested innatural science.

I want to show you the busts of two philosophers,
Imanuel Kant (1724-1804) (Fig. 29) and G. W. Leibniz(1646-1716) (Fig. 30).

Fig. 26. In the old botanical garden, close to Correns’s
memorial stone, there stands J. C. F. Hölderlin’s (1770-1847)
marble statue. Unfortunately the statue is weathered and botharms are missing.

Both philosophers had aninterest in nature. I have heard that the library of the
University has a collection of almost two million books.

Wilhelmstrasse
When we proceed to Wilhelmstrasse from the“Old Botanical Garden”, we reach the University Library(Fig. 27). On the upper part of the main entrance, we
can see the words “Königliche Universitats Bibliothek”.
The building of the Bibliothek is not tall but it wasconstructed from yellow sandstone. The “Busts “ of thefamous international intellectuals can be found in the out
side of the main building (Fig. 28).

Fig. 29. The first person is Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). He
published Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie desHimmels (1755). His great work is “Critical Philosophy” andhe developed his epistemology.
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Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

Fig. 30. The second person is Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz(1646-1716) who was a Naturforscher, mathematician
philosopher and politician. He established new mathematics
including differentiation, integration, and he made amechanical calculator.
Grave of Leibnitz is 「 St. John
Charch」in Hannover.

As we proceed further, we can see “Lothar Meyer
Bau” (Fig. 31).

Fig. 32. And as we proceed further, we can find “Hegel-Bau”
which commemorates the works done by Georg WilhelmFriedrich Hegel (1771-1831).

Meyer is one of the chemists who

found the periodic law of elements.

The name of thebuilding is dedicating to Meyer for his finding.

Fig. 33. Geolg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, 1770- 1831
(Philosoper, stamp issued 1970 by DDR).
Fig. 31. If we proceed further down Wilhelm streett, we can see“Lothar –Meyer Bau”.
The name of the building
commemorates the work of Lothar Meyer. He found aperiodic property of elements using atomic volume.

Memorial Stone of L. Meyer
In the woods near by “Max Planck Institute fürHegel was a

Biology” at the eastend of “Spemannstrasse”, there

philosopher and he spent his student days in Tübingen

stands a memorial for university staff who died duringwith Hölderlin and F. W. Schelling. He is famous forthe war. In the same woods, there stands a memorial

his idealistic philosophy (Fig. 33).

stone of L. Meyer (1814-1878) (Fig. 34).

Next, we see “Hegelbau” (Fig. 32).

is dedicated to Hegel.

The building name

The stone isdifficult to find, because of the heavy bushes. Letters

He obtained chairs at Jena,on the stone are simple and painted in red as follows:

Heidelberg and Berlin.

“Zum Andenken an Professor Lothar Meyer 1895.

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Fig. 34. The east end of “Spemann Street” near the Max Plank
Institute of Biology, there is a memorial for the university
persons who died during the war. Near the memorial, thememorial stone of Lothar Meyer’s is in the woods. The words
engraved on the stone are simple. 「 Zum Andenken an
Professor Lother Meyer 1895」. It is difficult to find the
Meyer’s memorial stone, because of the woods.

Fig. 35. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was born in Weil der
Stadt near Stuttgart. He is a mathematician and astronomer.
In other words, he is a founder of mathematical astronomy.
His astronomy is heliocentric. He formulated three laws ofplanetary movement, but his view of the world is a mixture of
the modern and the middle ages.

A.Strecker (Fig. 36) studied chemistry at Giessen
and obtained a chair at a military college in Norway, thenDean’s Officein Tübingen and Würzburg. Beautiful oil painting of A.

I visited the Dean’s office of “Mathematics andNaturalScience”(Fakultät

fürMthematik

Strecker was in the Deans office.

undThe “Strecker

Naturwissenschaft) to take pictures of scientists in his

reaction” for amino acid synthesis is familiar to theoffice.

author, and was particularly memorable.

The Dean was not present, but I had received

permission to take pictures beforehand. The portraits inthe office were as follows:
1) Johannes Kepler (Astronomer, 1571-1630)
2) Adolf Strecker (Chemist, 1822-1871)
3)Julius Robert Mayer (Physician and Physicist,
1814-1878)
J. Kepler (Fig. 35) is an astronomer.

After

studying mathematics and astronomy at Tübingen, hemoved to various places in search of a solid position,
which was difficult in the days of “30 Years War” inGermany.

He accomplishments include the discovery

Fig. 36. An Adolf Streker’s (1822-1871) oil painted portrait ison the wall. Some of Strecker’s Work is closely related to theauthor’s interest. The famous work he has done is amino acidsynthesis from aldehyde, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide.
The method is called “Strecker Synthesis of Amino acids”.
He moved to Wurzburg and died there. His grave is in the
Haupt Friedhof in Wurzburg.

of the famous three laws of planetary movement. He is
an interesting person in the history of science, because
his view of the world overlaps that of both the modern
and middle age.

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Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

J. R. Mayer (Fig. 37) was originally a physician.
He was educated Medicine at the university of Tübingen,and later became interested in physics. In the year 1842,
he proposed “Mechanical equivalence of Heat” and also
the “Conservation of Energy”.

These are among themost fundamental laws in nature, but he had difficulty
publish those findings. J. Liebig accepted the article forpublication on his Journal. However, both articles were
not accepted in the academic society.

“MechanicalEquivalence of Heat” was considered to be Joul’s work.
In addition, the “Conservation of Energy” was thought tobe the finding of Hermann Helmholz.

Fig. 37. Julius Robert Mayer (1814-1878) was originally aphysician. Later he was interested in physics. He was afounder of the concept of “work equivalence of heat” and“conservation of energy”.
However, his view was not
accepted in the academic society, committed suicide, but
survived and sent to mental hospital. After 1860, his theory
was gradually accepted and he received international honor. It
was said that his mental conditions never recovered.

Moreover his

theory on the generation of heat in the sun was thought
to be the idea of Helmholz and Lord Kelvin. All of the
new ideas he proposed were regarded as other man’swork.

In 1849, he tried to commit suicide and hejumped out from the 2nd floor, but he was survived andsent to the mental hospital (1851).

However, in the

beginning of 1860’s, the originality of Mayer’s finding
began to be appreciated before his death.

After his sadexperiences, he lived quietly until his death.
One interesting thing in the Deans office is acongratulatory address from the President of Tokyo
University (Dr. Seiji Kaya) to the President of the
University of Tübingen.

The address was written in

Japanese by brush and ink in the year 1963, which wasFig. 38. Showa 38th year in Japanese calendar corresponds tothe year 1963. This year was the 100th year that the University
of Tübingen reformed the old university system and establish“the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences”. The
congratulatory address written with brush and ink in Japanesewas sent to the president of the university of the Tübingen fromDr. Seiji Kaya, president of Tokyo University.
The
photograph is the congratulatory address from Dr. Kaya.

the year of 100th anniversary of the establishment of the
new faculty in Tübingen (Fig. 38).

Scientists in Tübingen
Since the reorganization of the old university
system in 1863, scientific branches were reformed andunified under the name of the Faculty of “Mathematics
and

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NaturalScience”(MathematischViva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät) (Fig. 39).

The faculty

was composed of seven branches of scientific areas.
These are as follows:
Mathemtisch- Naturwissenschaftliche Fakukltuät
1) Mathematics
2)Physics,Astronomy3)Geology, Mineralogy, Paleontology4)Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Physiological
Chemistry Pharmacology
5) Botany
Fig. 40. Pysicist Friedrich Paschen (1865-1940) found spectral
series of hydrogen atom.

6) Zoology
7) Geography

Hans Geiger (1882-1945) was a professor ofphysics (Fig. 41).

He deviced a sensitive instrument

to detect radioactivity, the Geiger counter.

Fig. 39. In the year 1963, a small booklet entitled “Hundert
Jahre, Mathematisch-maturwissenschaftliche Fakultät derEberhard-Karls–Universitat zu Tübingen” was published. The
cover of the booklet shows the system change from 1863 to
1963 in figure. All branches of natural sciences wereclassified as independent territories from the old “philosophy”
in the Middle Ages.

Fig. 41. Physicist Hans Geiger (1882-1945) made counter forradio-activity.

During the past one hundred years many famous
Walther Kossel (1888-1956) was a professor ofscholors appeared in Tübingen especially from thephysics and he is famous for his theory of the chemical

University. Some of the scientists are shown below.

bond

Rule)

which

was

also

proposed

independently by American scientist Gilbert Lewis

Friedrich Paschen (1865-1940) was a professor of(1875-1946) at the same time (Fig. 42).

physics who found spectral series of hydrogen atom
(1908) (Fig. 40).

(OctetWalther is ason of Albrecht Kossel (1853-1927) who found a group

This finding became the foundationof physiological compound “Nuclein”.

for the establishment of the modern physics in the

The grave ofAlbercht and Walther are in the Wald Friedhof,

beginning of the 20th century.

Heidelberg.

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Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

inversion of configuration of chiral organic compounds.
Shown below is the reaction of a chiral organic
compound (Ⅰ) with alkali to form compound (Ⅲ) via
intermediate structure ( Ⅱ ).

In this reaction, theconfiguration (Ⅰ) is converted to (Ⅲ), just like left
handed structure ( Ⅰ ) is converted to right handed
structure (Ⅲ).

This structure change is called (Walden)

inversion, and this type of substitution reaction is now
called SN2 reaction.

SN2 means that the reaction is

Substitution reaction, nucleophilic and bimolecular.
Fig. 42. Phisicist Walther Kossel (1888-1956) proposed “Octed
Rule for chemicalbounding.

Paul Walden (1863-1957) was a professor oforganic and physical chemistry, and he was interested in
the history of chemistry.
He was an orphan, earned money as a hometeacher, and he graduated from “Riga Technical College”.
After graduation, he engaged in physicochemical andstereochemical research. In 1895 he found the “Walden
Inversion”.

The terminology of the reaction is due toFig. 43. Chemist Paul Walden (1863-1957) found inversion ofconfiguration in the substitution reaction of chiral organic
compounds. The inversion of configuration is called “Walden
Inversion”. He lectured in the University until his age reach90 years old.

Emil Fischer (1852-1919) who was a founder ofstereochemistry of organic compound. He obtained achair of professor as chemistry in Riga.

In the year

1919 he became president of the newly established

Ernst Felix Hoppe-Seyler (1825-1895) was a“Latvia University”, however, because of the social

founder of modern physiological chemistry (Fig. 44).

turmoil in his country, he fled to Germany, and took a

He was an orphan, and was brought up by his brother-in-seat as professor of chemistry at Rostock University.

law (Dr. Seyler), and he called himself “Hoppe-Seyler”

After retirement he devoted his time to the study ofin his later years.

chemical history.

Berlin.

Since he was neither German nor Russian, heteach for a long time.

He became medical doctor and practiced forshort time.

could not receive any pension, and have to continue to
The picture of P. Walden was

taken in the occasion of his memorial lecture in his

He studied in Halle, Leipzig and

At the same time, he started research in

RudolfVirchow’s

published

the(1821-1902)

great

handbooklaboratory.

He“Handbuchderphysiologish und pathologischen Analyse” (1861-1872).

retirement at the age 90 years old (Fig. 43).

He became a professor at Tübingen, however, he was

The name reaction founded by P. Walden is ancalled from newly germanized University of Strasburg asimportant stereochemical reaction, and is related to thea professor of physiological chemistry, where he
186Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

remained there until his death.

attempted alcoholic fermentation with sugar. Buchner

His working area was wide, and covered almost all

found that fermentation proceeded without live yeast cell.

area of physiological chemistry. He was interested in

Therefore fermentation is not the results of the vital force

red pigment in blood, and the reaction with carbonof the living yeast cell.

monoxide, analysis of milk and urine, formation ofdamaged considerably the vitalistic interpretation of

dolomite (a mineral) etc.

fermentation.

He wanted to establish

This simple experiment

Buchner received the Nobel Prize inphysiological chemistry with an academic discipline.

1907. Buchner died in the Rumanian front during the

For this reason, he tried to establish comprehensive

1st World War. He was the first and the last Noble Prizeanalytical methods on the basis of physics, chemistry andWinner to die in the battle field.

medicine. The first physiological Journal “Zeitscrift fürAdolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt (1903-1990)

Physiologische Chemie” was published in 1877. The

studied at Marburg and Göttingen (Fig. 45). He was a

Journal is often called “Hoppe-Seyler”.

pupil of Adof Windaus (1876-1959, Steroid chemist) in
Göttingen.

He obtained chairs at Danzig, Tübingen,

Berlin and München and he became a director of Kaiser
Wilhelm Institute and later the Max Plank Institute
Biochemistry in 1936-1960.
He isolated human female hormone (Estron, 1929),
and male hormone (Androsteron, 1931) and other humansexual hormones.

He also synthesized Teststeron(1935). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1939, but
could not actually receive the prize until 1949 because of
Fig. 44. Chemist Ernst Felix Hoppe-Seyler (1825-1895) is afounder of physiological chemistry and published first journalof physiological chemistry (Zeitschrift für physiologische
Chemie).

political pressure from the Nazi.

Eduart Buchner (1860-1917) was born in
München as a son of professor of medicine. He studied
chemistry under Adolf Baeyer (1835-1917), and botanyunder Karl Wilhelm Nageli (1817-1891).

His elderbrother,

was

Hans

bacteriologist.

Buchner,(1850-1902),a

Eduarat’s most important contribution

to science is in enzymology.

It was believed thatfermentation reaction proceed in the presence of live
yeast cell by the action of vital force.

BuchnerFig. 45. A.F. J. Butenondt (1903-1990) isolated human femal
and male hormon and synthesized female hormone.

wondered whether the fermentation required live yeast
cell or not.

He ground yeast cells with sand and187

Viva origino 29 (2001) 174- 188

Famous Persons buried in the Tübingen Friedhoh
Famous persons were buried in the Stadtfriedhof(city cemetery) Tübingen. They are as follows:
Johann Christian Hölderlin (1770-1843, poet) (Fig. 46)
Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862, poet, linguist)(Fig. 47)
Eduart Spranger (1882-1963, philosopher) (Fig. 48)
Lother Meyer (1830-1895, chemist) (Fig. 49)
Paul Walden (chemist, 1863-1957) was buried in the
Waldfriedhof, Tübingen with his family(Fig. 50).
Fig. 48. Eduart Spranger (1882-1963) was a famous
philosopher, psychologist and pedagogue. His gravestone islight brown sandstone. He and his wife’s names, birth anddeath dates are recorded on the stone. In the lower part of thegravestone, a cross is engraved. I remember that there is a
Spranger’s Gedenktafel is in Dahlem, Berlin.

Fig. 46. Johann Christian Hölderlin’s (1770-1843, poet)gravestone is light brown sandstone. His name, birth anddeath dates are engraved on the gravestone. The grave looks
new and may have been rebuilt in the late years. Deep red
flowers were in bloom around the gravestone.

Fig. 49. Lother Meyer’s (180-1895, Chemist) gravestone is a
modified large natural stone. Meyer’s full name, birth anddeath date are recorded by the black metallic letter. He foundperiodic property of elements using atomic volume.

Fig. 50. Paul Walden (1863-1957, chemist) is Latvian. He lost
his native the world war. He was a foreigner in Germany andcould not receive pension for everyday life. He worked in the
University until his late years. The photograph was taken at his
memorial lecture when he resigned at 90 years old. The“Walden Inversion” is important for the chemical reaction ofchiral organic compounds. In his later year he studied historyof chemistry and published some historical books.

Fig. 47. Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862, poet) wasborn in
Tübingen, taught, studied and died here in Tubingen. He wasa multitalented intelectualand he was popular in this area. I
remember that there is “Uhland Strace” in the Berlin Mitte.

188