Kurt Alder (1902-1958)

Awarded the Prize “for his discovery development of the diene synthesis.”

German chemist. Alder was born on July 10, 1902 in Konigshütte, Germany. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1926 at the University of Kiel. In 1930 Alder was appointed Reader for chemistry by the Faculty of Philosophy at Kiel University; promotion to Lecturer followed in 1934. Alder left Kiel in 1936 to take up the appointment as Head of Department in the Science Laboratories of the I. G. Farben-Industrie. In 1940 Alder was appointed to the Chair for Experimental Chemistry Chemical Technology at Cologne University also became Principal of the Institute of Chemistry. Alder died on June 20, 1958 in Cologne.