death_date death_place birth_place birth_date image article_title name
16 february 1927 graz prague 25 february 1857 friedrich reinitzer 01.jpg friedrich reinitzer
 friedrich reinitzer
friedrich reinitzer

friedrich richard reinitzer -lrb- 25 february 1857 in prague - 16 february 1927 in graz -rrb- was an austrian botanist and chemist .
in late 1880s , experimenting with cholesteryl benzoate , he discovered properties of liquid crystals -lrb- named later by otto lehmann -rrb- .
reinitzer was born into a german bohemian family in prague .
he studied chemistry at the german technical university in prague ; in 1883 he was habilitated there as a private docent .
from 1888-1901 he was a professor at karl-ferdinands-universität , then professor at technical university in graz .
during 1909 - 1910 he served as the rector of the university .
while at karl-ferdinands-universität in 1888 he discovered a strange behaviour of what would later be called liquid crystals .
for the explanation of their behaviour he collaborated with the physicist otto lehmann from aachen .
the discovery received plenty of attention at the time but no practical uses were apparent and the interest dropped soon .
