Background
Karl Friedrich von Auwers was born on September 16, 1863 in Gotha, Germany, the son of the renowned astronomer Arthur Auwers.
Karl von Auwers from 1889 until 1900.
Karl von Auwers studied at first at the University of Heidelberg.
Karl von Auwers studied at the University of Berlin where he received his Ph.D. in 1885.
Karl Friedrich von Auwers was born on September 16, 1863 in Gotha, Germany, the son of the renowned astronomer Arthur Auwers.
Auwers studied at first at the University of Heidelberg and later with August Wilhelm von Hofmann at the University of Berlin where he received his Ph.D. in 1885.
Auwers was a student of A. W. von Hofmann at Berlin, an assistant to Victor Meyer at Gottingen and Heidelberg, and then director of the chemical institute at the University of Marburg. On joining Victor Meyer, he became involved in stereochemical studies. In 1888 Auwers and Meyer substituted the name “stereochemistry” for van’t Hoff’s “chemistry in space.” At this time the concept of geometrical isomerism had not been extended to structures other than those involving carbon atoms. Auwers and Meyer found that there were three isomeric forms of benzildioxime.
And proposed, contrary to van’t Hoff’s principle of the free rotation of single bonds, that the isomerism resulted from the restricted rotation about the singly bound carbon atoms. Arthur Hantzsch and Alfred Werner elaborated the presently accepted theory in 1890 by extending geometric isomerism from doublebonded carbon atoms to double-bonded carbon and nitrogen atoms. Auwers and Meyer themselves aided in the confirmation of the Hantzsch and Werner theory.
He stayed at Heidelberg until he became professor at the University of Greifswald in 1900. He was responsible for the construction of a new chemistry department which he became head of. He left in 1913 to become head of the chemistry department of the University of Marburg where he stayed until his retirement in 1928.
He died on May 3, 1939 at the age of 75 in Marburg, Germany.
German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.