Hermann Emil Fischer
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on sugar and purine syntheses.
Most quoted
"The astonishingly close relationship between the chemical constitution and the physiological action of organic compounds is one of the most interesting and significant facts in the whole realm of biology."
— from Speech, 1894
"Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. Inorganic chemistry is the chemistry of everything else. And physical chemistry is the chemistry of nothing at all."
— from Attributed anecdote
"The chemist, like the artist, is driven by a profound curiosity about the nature of reality, seeking to understand the fundamental building blocks and their interactions."
— from Unknown
All quotes by Hermann Emil Fischer (412)
I have always found that the most beautiful solutions in chemistry are also the simplest.
The true worth of a discovery lies not in its novelty, but in its power to explain and connect.
We must learn to think in three dimensions if we are to understand the molecules of life.
The difference between a poison and a remedy is often only a question of dose and molecular arrangement.
Nature's workshop is the most ingenious laboratory; our task is to decipher its blueprints.
A chemical formula should be a picture of reality, not just a shorthand for elements.
The study of fermentation opened a window into the very machinery of the cell.
I have never made a discovery by accident; every step was the result of careful planning and observation.
The greatest challenge for the organic chemist is to outwit nature in her own game of synthesis.
Simplicity in experimental design is the hallmark of a master.
The molecules of purines and pyrimidines are the silent architects of heredity.
Without a clear hypothesis, experimentation is but random activity.
The joy of discovery is the chemist's true reward, greater than any honor or prize.
It is a profound mistake to separate chemistry from biology; they are two sides of the same coin.
The configuration of a molecule is its destiny.
In research, the road less traveled often leads to the richest discoveries.
A single well-established fact can overturn a mountain of elegant theory.
The synthesis of urea from inorganic materials was the dawn of a new era, proving that the vital force was a myth.
Precision in measurement is the conscience of chemistry.
The chemist must be both a detective, uncovering nature's secrets, and an architect, building new forms of matter.
Contemporaries of Hermann Emil Fischer
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Hermann Emil Fischer (1852–1919).