Background
Rupe was born on October 9, 1866 in Basel to Johannes Rupe and Mathilde Rupe (born Fischer) and went to school in Basel.
Rupe was born on October 9, 1866 in Basel to Johannes Rupe and Mathilde Rupe (born Fischer) and went to school in Basel.
Rupe received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1889 in Munich for his dissertation "Über die Reduktionsprodukte der Dichloromuconsäure".
His main field of interest was terpenes and campher as well as optical activity. He passed his "Maturität" in 1885 and then went on to study in Basel under Julius Piccard. He continued his studies at the University of Strasbourg under Rudolf Fittig and then in 1887 in Munich under Adolf von Baeyer.
In 1894 he went to Mulhouse to become head of the "Chemieschule" in the organic division.
Rupe habilitated in 1895 in Basel, where he moved in 1899. In 1903, he became extraordinary professor for organic chemistry at the University of Basel.
He worked with the chemistry Professor Rudolf Nietzki, who retired in 1911. During his time as a professor, he supervised nearly 150 students and published over 250 scientific articles
Rupe retired in 1937 and died on January 12, 1951. auswärtiges Mitglied der Kaiserlich Leopoldinisch-Karolinische Akademie der Naturforscher.