George Rieveschl, PhD (January 9, 1916 - September 27, 2007), Born in
Arlington Heights (Lockland), Ohio, he was a chemical engineer - not a
medical doctor - who made the world breathe easier. While a chemical
engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati (UC), he invented
the drug Benadryl, the world’s first effective antihistamine which gave
relief to sufferers of allergies, colds, rashes, hives and hay fever. He died
September 27, 2007 at age 91 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Rieveschl had a Ph.D. in chemistry and was an assistant professor
researching muscle-relaxing drugs at the University of Cincinnati in the
early 1940s when he realized the powerful potential of the antihistamine
compound he invented that was then being tested as a muscle relaxer.
In 1943, Dr. Rieveschl left the University of Cincinnati to work for and
test his discovery at the laboratories of Parke-Davis, then the nation’s
largest drug manufacturer. Parke-Davis, now a subsidiary of the Pfizer
Corporation, later bought the rights to Benadryl and started marketing it
as a prescription drug in May 1946.
Dr. Rieveschl did not originally intend to be a chemist. In 1933 he
graduated from the Ohio Mechanics Institute of Technology and began
looking for work in commercial art. He couldn't get work in commercial
art and turned his attention to chemistry and enrolled at the University of
Cincinnati. There, he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1937, a master’s in
1939 and a doctorate in 1940. His talents were apparent to chemistry
professors and he was immediately offered a teaching position.
Over the course of his career, Rieveschl received numerous honors and
awards, including the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce's Great
Living Cincinnatian Award and induction into the International Science
and Engineering Hall of Fame. The University of Cincinnati also named
a building in his honor.
Rieveschl remained active in the Cincinnati-area science and arts
community until his death at age 91 from pneumonia. He had contributed
an estimated $10 million to his alma mater .
Source (data): www.nytimes.com www.ohiohistorycentral.org en.wikipedia.org
Source (photo): sciencephoto.com uc.edu
Arlington Heights (Lockland), Ohio, he was a chemical engineer - not a
medical doctor - who made the world breathe easier. While a chemical
engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati (UC), he invented
the drug Benadryl, the world’s first effective antihistamine which gave
relief to sufferers of allergies, colds, rashes, hives and hay fever. He died
September 27, 2007 at age 91 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Rieveschl had a Ph.D. in chemistry and was an assistant professor
researching muscle-relaxing drugs at the University of Cincinnati in the
early 1940s when he realized the powerful potential of the antihistamine
compound he invented that was then being tested as a muscle relaxer.
In 1943, Dr. Rieveschl left the University of Cincinnati to work for and
test his discovery at the laboratories of Parke-Davis, then the nation’s
largest drug manufacturer. Parke-Davis, now a subsidiary of the Pfizer
Corporation, later bought the rights to Benadryl and started marketing it
as a prescription drug in May 1946.
Dr. Rieveschl did not originally intend to be a chemist. In 1933 he
graduated from the Ohio Mechanics Institute of Technology and began
looking for work in commercial art. He couldn't get work in commercial
art and turned his attention to chemistry and enrolled at the University of
Cincinnati. There, he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1937, a master’s in
1939 and a doctorate in 1940. His talents were apparent to chemistry
professors and he was immediately offered a teaching position.
Over the course of his career, Rieveschl received numerous honors and
awards, including the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce's Great
Living Cincinnatian Award and induction into the International Science
and Engineering Hall of Fame. The University of Cincinnati also named
a building in his honor.
Rieveschl remained active in the Cincinnati-area science and arts
community until his death at age 91 from pneumonia. He had contributed
an estimated $10 million to his alma mater .
Source (data): www.nytimes.com www.ohiohistorycentral.org en.wikipedia.org
Source (photo): sciencephoto.com uc.edu
AGC Did You Know?
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Posted April 2012