Otto Fritz Meyerhof

During his time in Heidelberg, Meyerhof befriended Hedwig Schallenberg, a painter by profession. The two tied the knot in 1914. The couple was blessed with three children, a daughter, Bettina Meyerhof and two sons, Gottfried and Walter.

In 1944, Meyerhof suffered a heart attack. However, he survived the same but faced yet another one in 1951 which finally led to his death. He died on October 6, 1951.

Otto Fritz Meyerhof was born on April 12, 1884 to Jewish parents, Felix Meyerhof and Bettina May, in Hildesheim. His father was a merchant by occupation.

The family moved to Berlin after the birth of young Meyerhof. At Berlin, he completed his primary education from Wilhelms Gymnasium, a classical secondary school.

At the age of 16, Meyerhof suffered from a kidney problem that restricted his movement. He was bed-ridden for a couple of months. During this time, his mother had an important influence on his budding mind. She encouraged him to read literary works and write poetry. Much of Meyerhof’s artistic and intellectual development took place during this time.

Following his matriculation, Meyerhof studied medicine at Freiburg, Berlin, Strasbourg, and Heidelberg. In 1909, he graduated in medicine with a thesis on a psychiatric subject and devoted himself to psychology and philosophy.

Completing his studies, he published a book, ‘Beiträge zur psychologischen Theorie der Geistesstörungen’ or ‘Contributions to the psychological theory of mental disturbances’ and an essay on ‘Goethes Methoden der Naturforschung’ or ‘Goethe's methods of scientific research’.

At Heidelberg, Meyerhof came under the influence of Otto Warburg. The latter inculcated in Meyerhof the interest for cell physiology. He juggled his time between the laboratory of the Heildelberg Clinic and the Zoological station at Naples.

In 1912, Meyerhof moved to Kiel. A year later, he qualified for the post of the university lecturer in physiology after getting trained from Professor Bethe. The lectures delivered by him at Kiel were later compiled and published under the name, ‘The Chemical Dynamics of Living Matter’

In 1915, when Professor Hober took up Directorship at the Institute of Physiology, Meyerhof was appointed as his Assistant. Three years later, in 1918, he was promoted as the Assistant Professor.

All through his early academic career, Meyerhof was interested in the energy released by foodstuffs and consumed by living cells. He studied the methods of gas analysis through the calorimetric measurement of heat production.

Meyerhof demonstrated the fixed relationship between the consumption of oxygen and the metabolism of lactic acid in the muscle. The discovery was extremely significant in the field of physiology and won him a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1922.