FRIEDLIEB FERDINAND RUNGE: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS AND DISCOVERIES - ARTE - 2024

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge (1794-1867) was a German chemist and pharmacist recognized as one of the most influential scientists of the 19th century; his accomplishments include discovering caffeine. However, despite his great findings, it is considered that in his time his work was not valued fairly.

One of his first discoveries - the product of an accident - was the dilating effect of belladonna extract on the pupil. This discovery led him to meet the important writer Johann Wolfgang Goethe.

Runge was the one who discovered caffeine. Source: AnonymousUnknown author

From his encounter with Goethe his most significant discovery was born in 1820: the renowned poet and scientist was the one who encouraged him to analyze the coffee bean and as a result of this he discovered caffeine.

Also, Runge is credited with finding atropine, aniline, phenol, quinine, pyrrole, distilled tar dyes, and chromatography. In the academic field, his great vocation for study is recognized: in the century in which he lived he was one of the few pharmacists with a double doctorate.

Despite all these scientific achievements and the fact that his years of work have forged a place of honor in the history of chemistry and pharmacy, many researchers indicate that perhaps he did not run with the best of luck, since it was uphill get funders to make all of your discoveries profitable.

This generated that in his last years he had important economic complications that, although they did not prevent him from continuing with his scientific work, did reduce his living conditions and made him perish with few resources and without the recognition he was deserving of.

Biography

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was born on February 8, 1794, in Hamburg, Germany. He was the third son of a family of humble origins and from an early age he became interested in the study of science, which soon became his passion in life.

Since he was a child, Runge already demonstrated a great capacity for observation and a natural concern to seek explanations for many of the things that surrounded him, which predicted that he would be a diligent investigator.

Also from a very young age he was able to support himself financially after having chosen the pharmaceutical profession, which allowed him to continue his academic journey at various universities in Europe. During this time he carried out the outstanding investigations for which he was recognized.

Youth and studies

In 1816 he entered the University of Berlin, where he studied higher medicine. He then attended Göttingen, where he did an internship in chemistry, and in 1819 he obtained a doctorate in physics. In this context, he carried out research related to botany, specifically on poisoning with belladonna and henbane.

After this he returned to Berlin to work as a university professor. Runge gave various professorships related to plants and technical chemistry, and in parallel continued his work as a pharmacist.

In these years he lived with the remarkable physicist Johann Christian Poggendorf, with whom he was a schoolmate. Together they turned their residence into a laboratory, where they jointly conducted various experiments.

In 1823 he began new trips to various countries in Europe with the intention of continuing his studies and settled in Poland, where he also served as an associate professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Wroclaw.

In 1832 he was hired by a chemical products factory and had the function of directing the technical area; there he discovered aniline and phenol by distilling coal tar. Runge glimpsed that this discovery had special potential that the company could capitalize on, but failed to enlist the support of the owners.

Despite little backing from the factory, as a result of this discovery it was recognized by the London Industrial Congress and also received an award in Berlin.

Last years

In 1852 he was fired from the company, accused of not dedicating enough time to his work due to his constant academic-scientific activities. However, he was awarded a pension that allowed him to continue dedicating himself to what he was passionate about.

This pension was subsequently reduced, because in 1856 -after the death of the old owner of the factory- the new owner started a legal process to reduce his pension. This process was successful and Runge's economic conditions deteriorated considerably.

Despite these unfavorable conditions that accompanied him in the last years of his life, he did not rest in his research work and managed to write a varied number of books with very valuable scientific contributions.

Death

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge died on March 25, 1867 at the age of 73 in the city of Oranienburg. He died in very precarious conditions of precariousness if they are contrasted with the various contributions made throughout his life to the world of science.

Although his research was not valued at the time, history gradually gave it its place. At present he is considered a transcendental scientist and of great importance throughout the nineteenth century.

In 1869 the German Chemical Society built a memorial in his honor and in 1873 an obelisk was erected with his profile embossed on a bronze medallion. Several of his recognitions came after his death.

Contributions and discoveries

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge has a large number of scientific findings, among which the discovery of caffeine undoubtedly stands out.

Caffeine has been studied by a large number of scientists, but it is recognized that Runge was the first to get scientific support behind this element.

Runge was a prolific researcher and other relevant findings such as atropine, aniline, phenol, quinine, pyrrole, distilled tar dyes, and chromatography are recognized. Although in life his discoveries did not have a great impact, many of his findings had a connoted relevance later.

It is also important to highlight the diversity of utilities that have been given to Runge's work. Different industries and fields of science have used his findings, so the legacy left by this German chemist is considered invaluable.

Caffeine

When Runge was just a teenager he was preparing a medicine with the juice of belladonna and by accident a drop fell into his eye. He immediately noticed that his vision was clouding and, furthermore, his pupil was dilating.

After ten years, that accident allowed him to be in front of one of the most influential writers of the era, who also encouraged him to achieve the greatest discovery of his entire scientific career.

Runge was a disciple of the chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, for whom Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had great admiration. At that time Goethe was already one of the most respected literary figures in Europe, and it was thanks to that relationship he had with Döbereiner that the poet agreed to hear about a discovery that the young scientist had reached.

This finding that Runge showed to Goethe was related to an experiment that basically tried to use the extract of belladonna to dilate the eyes of a cat. This generated in Goethe a pleasant impression by the results achieved.

At the end of the exhibition, Goethe took from his desk a box of coffee beans and urged him to analyze its contents. Excited by the gesture, Runge returned to his laboratory and after a few months had already successfully extracted and purified the caffeine. He was only 25 when he accomplished this feat.

Other studies

- In 1819 he discovered quinine. Various sources wrongly attribute this discovery to scientist Pierre Joseph Pelletier.

- In 1833 he was the first to make aniline blue, a momentous discovery for the time because it represented the first artificial organic dye generated based on a mineral tar product.

- At age 20, he discovered the mydriatic effect of belladonna.

- On the occasion of a doctoral thesis, he devoted himself to indigo dye and its compounds with metallic salts and metallic oxides.

- Thanks to the research of Runge and some of his colleagues at the time, mineral tar became the basis of different industries due to the possibility of synthesizing dyes, perfumes, resins and paints, among others.

- Linked to his research on tar dyes were his experiments to measure color intensities by carrying out so-called point reactions on filter paper.

- He wrote famous writings called Maintenance Letters, through which he offered household advice related to how to remove rust stains from clothes or how to make fruit wine. These recommendations became popular at that time and many of these have not lost their validity today.

- Through their writings, pharmacists were able to advance in the study on how to detect sugar in urine.

- Runge is considered a precursor of paper chromatography, used for chemical analysis.

- He was one of the first scientists to isolate quinine, which is used medically to treat malaria.

References

1. López, A. “Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, the frustrated discoverer of caffeine” (2019) in El País. Retrieved on July 3, 2019 from elapais.com
2. Montoya, L. “Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge” (2019) in History - Biography. Retrieved on July 2, 2019 from historia-biografia.com
3. "Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, the scientist who discovered caffeine" (2019) in BBC News Mundo. Retrieved on July 3, 2019 at bbc.com
4. Weinberg, B. "The world of Cafeina" (2012) in Fondo de Cultura Económica. Recovered on July 2, 2019 from fondodeculturaeconomica.com
5. Wong, S. “Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, the godfather of caffeine” (2019) in New Cientist. Retrieved on July 2, 2019 at newscientist.com