doctoral_advisor death_date birth_place awards fields workplaces name birth_date known_for article_title citizenship alma_mater
robert robinson 08 december 1995 sydney , new south wales , australia fellow medal -lrb- 1972 -rrb- tetrahedron prize -lrb- 1987 -rrb- of the royal society -lrb- 1958 -rrb- davy organic chemistry university of cambridge , university of sydney arthur john birch 03 august 1915 birch reaction , other contributions to organic chemistry arthur birch -lrb- organic chemist -rrb-
 australian university of sydney , university of oxford
arthur birch -lrb- organic chemist -rrb-

arthur john birch , ac -lrb- 3 august 1915 -- 8 december 1995 -rrb- was an organic chemist from australia .
birch developed the birch reduction of aromatic rings -lrb- by treatment with lithium metal and ammonia -rrb- which is widely used in synthetic organic chemistry .
the birch reduction enables the modification of steroids .
in 1948 birch published the first total synthesis of a male sex hormone -lrb- 19-nortestosterone -rrb- , as the first member of a new structural series .
this series later comprised the first oral contraceptive pill , which was made by others .
the birch reduction also allows for the development of other steroid drugs and antibiotics - he also made the first simple synthesis of the ring a-b structure of cholesterol .
birch published over 440 scientific papers and reports .
