PD-US
- Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was born on 8th February 1794.
- He got his doctorate degree from the University of Berlin.
- He taught at the University of Breslau till 1831 after which he started working in a chemical company.
- Runge was an analytical chemist by profession.
- He’s mostly know for discovering and separating caffeine from coffee beans . He did this in 1819.
- He’s also known for discovering the pupil dilating effect of belladonna plant’s extract.
- Runge also wrote two books describing the use of paper chromatography to separate chemicals.
- Runge is also credited with discovering the first coal tar dye.
- In addition to this he also devised a way to extract sugar from beet juice.
- Runge was also one of the first scientists to isolate quinine, a drug used to treat diseases like malaria and babesiosis.
- In 1852 Runge was fired from the company he worked in, by a disgruntled boss.
- Runge died in extreme poverty at the age of 73 on March 25th 1867.
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