Friedrich Karl Johannes Thiele

Born May 13, 1865, in Ratibor, now Racibórz in the Polish People’s Republic; died Apr. 17, 1918, in Strasbourg. German organic chemist.

Thiele studied in Breslau (Wroclaw) in 1883 and in Halle during the years 1884–88. He became a professor at the University of Munich in 1893 and at the University of Strasbourg in 1902. Thiele investigated nitrogen-containing compounds, proposed a theory of partial valencies, and studied the isomers of unsaturated lactones. In addition, he discovered colored fulvenes (1900), investigated various iodine-containing substances, including iodoso-and iodo-compounds, and, in collaboration with W. Hempel in 1896, accurately determined the atomic weight of cobalt. Thiele also did research on war gases.