Paul Hermann Müller

@Inorganic Chemists, Life Achievements and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Paul Hermann Muller was a Swiss Chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of a form of DDT Swiss Scientists Chemists Inorganic Chemists Capricorn Celebrities Paul Hermann Muller was a Swiss Chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of a form of DDT which could kill insects when they came into contact with it. Though DDT had been available since 1873 it had to be ingested by the insects to be effective like all other insecticides till that time. This was an important discovery as DDT was used to kill mosquitoes carrying the malaria virus and helped save a large number of Allied soldiers fighting in the Far East. The shirts of the American and British troops were impregnated with DDT. The first large scale use of DDT was made in Naples, Italy, in 1943 to check a typhus epidemic which could be brought under control within three weeks of using the chemical. The biggest success of this chemical was its ability to reduce the incidence of malaria in different parts of the world by killing the mosquitoes that carried the germ. He developed substances for the tanning of leather that were synthetic in nature but produced fast colors. He also found out methods to conserve hides and to make wool and textile resistant to moths. His interest in botany also helped him discover a seed dressing which was free from mercury and helped the Swiss farmers.

Personal Details

Birthday: January 12, 1899 Died on: October 12, 1965 Nationality: Swiss Famous: Scientists, Chemists, Inorganic Chemists Known as: Paul Hermann Muller Universities: University of Basel Birth Place: Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland Information Detail Birthday January 12, 1899 Died on October 12, 1965 Nationality Swiss Famous Scientists, Chemists, Inorganic Chemists Known as Paul Hermann Muller Universities University of Basel Birth Place Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland Gender Male Sun Sign Capricorn Born in Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland Famous as Chemist Died at Age 66

Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland

Paul Hermann Müller born at Unsplash Birth Place

He married Friedel Ruegsegger in 1927 and had two son, Heinrich and Niklaus and one daughter, Margaretha from the marriage. Unsplash Personal Life

Paul Hermann Muller died on October 12, 1965 in Basel, Switzerland. Unsplash Personal Life

Paul Herman Muller was born in Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland on January 12, 1899. His father, Gottlieb Muller, was an official of the Swiss Federal Railways and his mother was Fanny Leopold. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He was the oldest of the four children in the Muller family. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He spent most of his early childhood in Lenzburg, in Aargau, but had to move to Basel at the age of five when his father was transferred there. After moving to Basel, Muller attended a primary school. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He attended the ‘Freie Evangelische Volsschule’ elementary and secondary schools later. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1916 he worked as a laboratory technician for a brief period in the chemical factory of Dreyfus & Company. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

On May 25, 1925 Muller joined as a research chemist in the dye division of the firm ‘J. R. Geigy’ which produced synthetic dyes, plant-based dyes and tanning agents that were available in nature. He remained with this company for the rest of his life. Unsplash Career

In 1930 he developed synthetic tanning agents and dyes which remained fast under sunlight. Unsplash Career

In 1935 he started a study on insecticides that could affect insects coming into contact with them. He stressed upon the various criteria of a perfect insecticide that would make it cheap, highly stable for long periods, prove highly potent against all types of insects without causing any harm to plants, animals or humans. Unsplash Career

In 1937 he developed and patented a method for producing insecticides out of synthetic cyanate and rhodanide based compounds. Unsplash Career

He also developed a mercury-free seed disinfectant called Graminone which benefited the Swiss farmers a great deal at the time. Unsplash Career

Paul Hermann Muller’s investigations in ‘Uber Konstitiution und Toxische Wirkung von naturlichen und neuen synthetischen insektentotenden Stoffen’ written with H. Martin and P. Lauger came out in ‘Helevetica chimica acta’ in 1944. Unsplash Major Works

His paper with the title ‘Uber Zusmmenhange zwischen Konstitution und insektizider Wirkung’ was published in 1946. Unsplash Major Works

He gave an account of the discovery of DDT in ‘Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroathan und neuere Inzekticide’ which was published in 1949. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	January 12, 1899
Died on	October 12, 1965
Nationality	Swiss
Famous	Scientists, Chemists, Inorganic Chemists
Known as	Paul Hermann Muller
Universities	University of Basel
Birth Place	Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Capricorn
Born in	Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland
Famous as	Chemist
Died at Age	66

Paul Hermann Müller

Swiss

Jan 12, 1899

Biography

Personal Details

Olten, Solothurn, Switzerland