Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge: The Man Who Gave Us Caffeine
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge: The Man Who Gave Us Caffeine
Fortune
If you enjoy caffeine, thank chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge.
Not only did the German scientist isolate the active ingredient from coffee beans, he was one of the first to isolate a drug used in treating malaria. In honor of Runge’s contributions to health—and your morning routine—Google has honored the scientist on his 225th birthday Friday with a coffee-drinking Google Doodle.
So, who exactly is Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge?
Runge was born on Feb. 8, 1795. He was the son of a Lutheran pastor and began his experiments in his teens. But Runge’s career really got started thanks to writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a cat, and a bag of coffee beans.
After being handed a bag of coffee beans from none other than the great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Runge isolated the eye-widening, heart-pumping drug we know as caffeine.
As if discovering the fuel of the modern workforce wasn’t enough, Runge was among the first scientists to isolate quinine, one of the earliest treatments for malaria. He also developed a technique to dye clothes, discovered the dye known as aniline blue, invented a system to extract sugar from beet juice, and was the father of a critical tool in analytical chemistry, paper chromatography.
Runge was born in the Billwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany, on February 8, 1794, as the third child of a pastor. His family initially could only afford to send him to elementary school, but he began working as an apprentice at his uncle’s pharmacy at the age of 16, where he started to experiment with chemistry. One of his earliest findings was that the extract of the belladonna plant, also known as deadly nightshade, could dilate pupils. He discovered this when he accidentally splashed some in his eye, and in true scientist form, he took notes.
A decade later, he demonstrated this effect for Goethe, although this time, he used a cat. Runge explained that he used the extract to treat partial blindness in a soldier. In his book, he recounted that this demonstration so impressed the legendary philosopher and diplomat that “he handed me a carton of coffee beans, which a Greek had sent him as a delicacy. ‘You can also use these in your investigations,’ said Goethe. He was right; for soon thereafter I discovered therein caffeine, which became so famous on account of its high nitrogen content.”
Runge went on to receive a doctorate from the University of Berlin and taught at the University of Breslau before leaving to work for a chemical company. Throughout his life, he also turned his chemistry knowledge toward practical matters like removing stains, making wine, and cooking.
Despite his contributions, many of his accomplishments went unrecognized and were often attributed to other scientists. He eventually had a falling-out with his employer and lost his job. Runge died in poverty on March 25, 1867, at the age of 73.
View all episodes
By Newsbeat RadioFortune
If you enjoy caffeine, thank chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge.
Not only did the German scientist isolate the active ingredient from coffee beans, he was one of the first to isolate a drug used in treating malaria. In honor of Runge’s contributions to health—and your morning routine—Google has honored the scientist on his 225th birthday Friday with a coffee-drinking Google Doodle.
So, who exactly is Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge?
Runge was born on Feb. 8, 1795. He was the son of a Lutheran pastor and began his experiments in his teens. But Runge’s career really got started thanks to writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a cat, and a bag of coffee beans.
After being handed a bag of coffee beans from none other than the great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Runge isolated the eye-widening, heart-pumping drug we know as caffeine.
As if discovering the fuel of the modern workforce wasn’t enough, Runge was among the first scientists to isolate quinine, one of the earliest treatments for malaria. He also developed a technique to dye clothes, discovered the dye known as aniline blue, invented a system to extract sugar from beet juice, and was the father of a critical tool in analytical chemistry, paper chromatography.
Runge was born in the Billwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany, on February 8, 1794, as the third child of a pastor. His family initially could only afford to send him to elementary school, but he began working as an apprentice at his uncle’s pharmacy at the age of 16, where he started to experiment with chemistry. One of his earliest findings was that the extract of the belladonna plant, also known as deadly nightshade, could dilate pupils. He discovered this when he accidentally splashed some in his eye, and in true scientist form, he took notes.
A decade later, he demonstrated this effect for Goethe, although this time, he used a cat. Runge explained that he used the extract to treat partial blindness in a soldier. In his book, he recounted that this demonstration so impressed the legendary philosopher and diplomat that “he handed me a carton of coffee beans, which a Greek had sent him as a delicacy. ‘You can also use these in your investigations,’ said Goethe. He was right; for soon thereafter I discovered therein caffeine, which became so famous on account of its high nitrogen content.”
Runge went on to receive a doctorate from the University of Berlin and taught at the University of Breslau before leaving to work for a chemical company. Throughout his life, he also turned his chemistry knowledge toward practical matters like removing stains, making wine, and cooking.
Despite his contributions, many of his accomplishments went unrecognized and were often attributed to other scientists. He eventually had a falling-out with his employer and lost his job. Runge died in poverty on March 25, 1867, at the age of 73.