Adolf Butenandt

German biochemist (1903-1995)

  • Fame56.8
  • Momentum0.0
  • Wikipedia2.7K
Source-basedStable
Lived 1903–1995, aged 92Germany
  • Wikipedia
    70 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1903–1995
    Aged 92
  • Awards
    25
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-06-08

A German biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1939 for his work on sex hormones, then had to refuse it under Nazi government policy — and only accepted it a decade later, after the war ended.

Biography

About

Adolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt was born 24 March 1903 in Lehe near Bremerhaven. His research into sex hormones earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1939, but he initially rejected the award in accordance with government policy, a decision that shadowed the recognition for a decade. After World War II, he accepted the prize in 1949. In 1959 he became the first to discover the structure of the sex pheromone of silkworms, which he named bombykol. From 1960 to 1972 he served as President of the Max Planck Society. He died 18 January 1995 in Munich.

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Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Stable
56.8
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Historical22.1
Source confidence60.0
Completeness70.0
Global rank
Country rank
Category rank
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence