Reminiscences of Hans Fischer and His Laboratory

Fíe. ?.—Hans Fischer in 1930, at the age of 50 PERSPECTIVES IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE Volume VIII · Number 4 · Summer 1963 REMINISCENCES OF HANS FISCHER AND HIS LABORATORY CJ. WATSON, M.D.* In the fall of1930 Munich had in some measure regained its equanimity and charm and its usual fervor for the arts and sciences, after the bleak years ofWorld War I and the difficult period ofreadjustment. Yet it was scarcely affluent, and it was soon to come under a more baneful influence, whose prophet was still regarded, at least in academic circles, as a harmless demagogue or "spellbinder." Three of the most distinguished organic chemists of that period were highly respected citizens of Munich: Willstätter, already in semi-retirement though still devoting himselfto the budding chemistry ofenzymes; Wieland, the University Professor, pursuing his studies ofthe bile acids and ofbiological oxidation-reduction mechanisms; Hans Fischer, the youngest of the three, the Professor of Organic Chemistry and Director of the Organic Chemical Division ofthe Technische Hochschule. The university, in keeping with tradition, minimized technology and the application of science to commerce and industry, which was properly the domain ofthe Technische Hochschule. Despite this more formal orientation in respect to pure and applied science, it is apparent from the character of Fischer's activities over two decades that the Technische Hochschule by no means discouraged basic research. In the fall of 1930 Fischer received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his synthesis of hemin [1]. Shortly after his return from Stockholm a Feierabend was planned by his many graduate students and assistants. With appreciation oftheir generally straitened finances, Fischer pre-empted the costs ofthe dinner, which was a happy affair, replete with various items of * Department ofMedicine, University ofMinnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 419 the Bavarian cuisine, including the Münchener beer and Weisswiirstl. The dinner was attended by about ninety of Fischer's graduate students, or Mitarbeiter, nearly all ofwhom were working under his direction in the Organisch-Chemische Abteilung. I had the great pleasure of attending this dinner, though it must be said that in that early period of my stay in Fischer's laboratory my German was quite inadequate for the occasion, and my experience with hoch Bayrisch, in which some ofthe repartee was carried on, was almost nil. Although I was to gain a reasonable proficiency in German, due simply to the day-to-day necessity ofcommunication in the laboratory, the dialect eluded me, and still does. I remember wondering again, when I saw so many of his graduate students gathered for the evening, how Fischer could possibly advise such a large group in respect to their individual research programs. I had asked myself this same question the first time I walked through the enormous laboratories under his direction. There were three of these cavernous rooms, each with bench space for an average oftwenty to thirty students. Faintly smoky and heavily redolent of many volatile compounds, the composite picture suggested the old tale ofthe industrious gnomes in their underground workshops. Several smaller laboratories accommodated the remainder of Fischer's students and staff. Much of the more routine instruction , especially in methodology, depended on the student's willingness to seek information from the more advanced students, or Dozenten. His initiative was highly essential to his progress, and it was stimulated by the knowledge that Fischer required an account of results at reasonably short intervals. Fischer's visits were unannounced and highly informal. He invariably wore an old brown coat patched at the elbows, otherwise nondescript, perhaps initially a type ofsport coat. With the years in which this had become traditional it had lost any early elegance, but it was highly serviceable and I never saw him wear anything else in the Technische Hochschule. Curiously enough, this coat dominated his appearance to an extent that dims my memory ofhis trousers or shoes, but I believe they were generally gray and black, respectively. His shirts and neckties were conventional and unobtrusive. His conversations at the laboratory bench were simple and direct, at times even brusque and to the point, never ponderous, loquacious, or dogmatic. His manner was unassuming, generally serious. On occasion he displayed an earthy sense ofhumor, even in the...