Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, Chemistry (1876 to 1959)

In 1928 Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus (1876 to 1959) received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his achievements in the research into the construction of sterols and their connection to vitamins. From 1915 until his retirement in 1944 Windaus was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Göttingen and Director of the General Institute of Chemistry. He researched the structure of steroids, in particular cholesterol. The natural compound chemist also succeeded in clarifying the composition of vitamin D and to develop a medication for the prevention and treatment of rickets. This so-called “English disease” occurring as a result of a deficit of vitamin D is nowadays largely eradicated.