ALBERT ESCHENMOSER (1925--2023), the brilliant Swiss chemist quietly composed an autobiography describing his six professional decades just "for the sake of its existence."

Already as a PhD student at ETH Zurich, he discerned patterns in the biogenesis of terpenes. His passion for synthesis of very complex molecules culminated in the world famous "competitive collaboration" with R.B. Woodward's group resulting in two total syntheses of Vitamin B12.

Albert Eschenmoser asked questions like "How did life on Earth arise? Why did Nature choose the biomolecules we know?" Clearly his vision went beyond synthesis - he pondered about fundamental issues following his conviction: "Life: perfectly commonplace and an everlasting miracle at the same time. Its emergence about four billion years ago ... is the most significant chemical property of matter".

This reflects Eschenmoser's unique stature among 20th century scientists.

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Autorentext

1955-1960 Pioneering research on vitamin B12 synthesis
1960 Promoted to associate professor; became full professor in 1965
1972 Completed total synthesis of vitamin B12
1980s-1990s Research on the chemical origins of nucleic acids; developed artificial genetic polymers such as TNA
1986 Awarded the Wolf Prize in Chemistry for work on natural product synthesis and reaction mechanisms
1992 Retired from ETH Zurich; continued research as professor at Scripps Research Institute 1996-2009