content
Friedrich Reinitzer
Friedrich Richard Reinitzer (February 25 , 1857 in Prague - February 16 , 1927 in Graz ) was an Austrian botanist and chemist. In late 1880s, experimenting with cholesteryl benzoate , he discovered properties of liquid crystals (named so later by Otto Lehmann ).
Reinitzer was born into a German Bohemian family in Prague. He studied chemistry at the German technical university in Prague ; in 1883 he was habilitated there as a private docent . In 1885 he moved to the technical university in Graz . During 1909 - 1910 he served as the rector of the university.
In 1888 he discovered a strange behaviour of what would later be called liquid crystals . For the explanation of their behaviour he collaborated with the physicist Otto Lehmann from Aachen . The discovery received plenty of attention at the time but due to no practical use the interest dropped soon.
Selected works From [1] :
Beiträge zur Kenntnis des Cholesterins , in: Monatshefte für Chemie 3, 1883;Der Gerbstoffbegriff und seine Beziehung zur Pflanzenchemie , in: Lotos 39, 1891.
