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Gary R. ListJ. A Kenar

Giants of the Past

Giants of the past: Wilhelm Heintz (1817-1880)

Although nearly unknown today, Wilhelm Heintz was one of the most productive scientists of the 19th century, who made significant contributions to fatty acid chemistry. At the time of his death he had authored over 200 publications mainly in the area of physiological chemistry. Other areas included mineral analysis, improved techniques for elemental analysis, and organic chemistry. His relative obscurity was in part due to his position as Halle University, a small and less prestigious German University. As such, Heintz lacked the resources to lead a large research group. His only student of renown was Johannes Wislicenus (1833-1902). Heintz relied upon empirical investigations and published little on the theoretical aspectsof chemistry. One exception centered around a dispute with Vladimir Markovikov on the structure of ethyl glycol amides. Heintz was one of the first to apply the new theory of chemical structure, introduced by Aleksandr Butlerov in the 1860’s, to ethyl glycol amides. Virtually all of Heintz’s published work was found in German journals of the day and he published just one book, a textbook on animal chemistry.

Heintz was born in Berlin, the son of a business man. His introduction to science came when he was apprenticed to a pharmacist but decided to pursue chemistry. Since he had not completed studies for entrance to the University, Heintz prepared for and passed the matriculation exam and enrolled at the University of Berlin in 1840. He completed his doctoral dissertation