Adolf Butenandt
He unlocked the chemical secrets of sex hormones and insect attraction, reshaping biology and medicine.
1903–1995 (age 92)·German biochemist·Birthday: March 24·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Adolf Butenandt was a chemist who peered into the body's most intimate communications. Working in Göttingen and Berlin in the 1930s, he isolated and crystallized the first pure sex hormones—estrone, androsterone, and progesterone—transforming them from mysterious biological forces into tangible chemical formulas. This work, which earned him a Nobel Prize, laid the molecular groundwork for the contraceptive pill and hormone therapies. His curiosity extended beyond humans; in 1959, he deciphered the structure of bombykol, the silkworm moth's sex pheromone, founding the modern field of chemical ecology. Later, as President of the Max Planck Society for over a decade, he steered West German science through its postwar renaissance, though his early career within the Nazi regime remains a complex part of his legacy. Butenandt's life was a pursuit of the invisible scripts that govern reproduction and behavior.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Adolf was born in 1903, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Adolf Was Born
The biggest hits of 1903
Adolf's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1903Born
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Started school
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1916Became a teenager
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Could drive
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1921Could vote
First commercial radio broadcasts
President: Warren G. Harding"My Man" — Fanny Brice
1924Turned 21
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1933Turned 30
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1943Turned 40
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1953Turned 50
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1963Turned 60
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1973Turned 70
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1983Turned 80
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1995Died at 92
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
Key Achievements
- Awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his isolation and synthesis of sex hormones.
- First to isolate the female sex hormone estrone in crystalline form in 1929.
- Identified and named bombykol, the first chemically characterized pheromone, in 1959.
- Served as President of the Max Planck Society from 1960 to 1972, overseeing its expansion.
Did You Know?
He was forced to decline the 1939 Nobel Prize initially due to a Nazi government policy, accepting the diploma and medal in 1949.
His discovery of bombykol involved extracting the substance from the scent glands of half a million silkworm moths.
He turned down an offer to become the founding rector of the University of Bielefeld in the late 1960s.
Much of his early hormone research was conducted with his colleague Leopold Ruzicka, who shared the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
“We crystallized estrone from the urine of pregnant women.”
