Ernst Späth

Ernst Späth (German pronunciation: [ɛʁnst ˈʃpɛːt]; 14 May 1886 in Moravský Beroun – 30 September 1946 in Zurich) was an Austrian chemist, specializing in natural products.

Ernst Späth
bust in the Arkadenhof of the University of Vienna
Born	(1886-05-14)14 May 1886 Moravský Beroun, Moravia
Died	30 September 1946(1946-09-30) (aged 60) Zurich, Switzerland
Nationality	Austrian
Known for	synthesis Mescaline
Awards	Liebig Medal (1937) Wilhelm Exner Medal (1937)
Scientific career
Fields	Phytochemistry
Doctoral advisor	Rudolf Wegscheider
Doctoral students	Percy Lavon Julian Hans Tuppy

Life

Späth was the first to synthesise mescaline^[1] and was one of the first to synthesize cuscohygrine on a small scale with Hans Tuppy.

He lost everything in World War II, and died with no money. His former student Percy Lavon Julian returned to Vienna, paid for his funeral, and commissioned a bust of Späth, which is still displayed in the foyer of the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna. A second cast of the bust was erected in 1961 in the Arkadenhof of the University of Vienna.