Rudolf Geigy

Rudolf Geigy (20 December 1902 – 8 March 1995) was a Swiss biologist and a professor of embryology and genetics at the University of Basel. He established the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and studied tropical diseases.[1]

Rudolf Geigy
Rudolf Geigy, seated at a table, signing a book
Born20 December 1902
Basel, Switzerland
Died8 March 1995(1995-03-08) (aged 92)
NationalitySwiss
Scientific career
Fieldsbiology, medicine, vector-borne diseases

Life and career

Geigy was born in Basel, Switzerland on 20 December 1902.[2] He was the son of Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian and Helene Schlumberger[3] who belonged to the family that established Geigy, a major pharmaceutical firm.[4] He studied zoology at Basel and Geneva. In 1938 he became an associate professor of embryology and genetics at the University of Basel. In 1943 he established the Swiss Tropical Institute (now Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute) in Basel where he was a director until 1972.[1] He also established the Ifakara Health Institute in Ifakara, Tanzania after a visit in 1949,[5][6] and a research institute on the Ivory Coast. He studied malaria, sleeping sickness, and river blindness.[1][7] He specialized in disease-transmitting vectors including tsetse flies,[2] mites, and ticks.[8]

Geigy married three times with three daughters and a son from the second wife. He then married Charlotte Hunziker in 1972. On 8 March 1995, due to health issues, the couple chose to die by assisted suicide through the euthanasia organization Exit (Switzerland), which led to a major debate on euthanasia in Switzerland.[9][10]

During his life, Geigy helped establish a number of institutions which have since merged.[11] The Rudolf Geigy Foundation continues to give awards named for Geigy to scholars researching tropical and neglected diseases, specifically those who combine field and laboratory work in novel ways,[12] honoring Geigy's legacy of doing so himself.[2]

See also

References
  1. Freyvogel, Thierry. "Rudolf Geigy". Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (in German). Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. Vincent Landon (December 20, 2002). "Swiss Tropical Institute commemorates founder". swissinfo.ch. Archived from the original on November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  3. "Auszug Stamm Geigy" (PDF). stroux.org (in German). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  4. "Novartis AG". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  5. Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania (PDF). Excellence in Science: Profiles of Research Institutions in Developing Countries (twas.org/publications/excellence-in-science). The World Academy of Sciences. 2009. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  6. "Who We Are – Ifakara Health Institute – IHI". Ifakara Health Institute – IHI. Archived from the original on 2016-06-04. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  7. Janssens, P.G. (1995). "In memoriam Rudolf Geigy 20 December 1902 – 8 March 1995" (PDF). Annales de la Société Belge de Médecine Tropicale (in French). 75 (3): 249–250. PMID 8849303. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  8. Pamela Weintraub (2013). Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic (Revised ed.). Macmillan. p. 81. ISBN 9781250044563. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  9. "PA 1095 Rudolf Geigy (1902–1995), 1946 (ca.)–2003 (Bestand)" [PA 1095 Rudolf Geigy (1902–1995), 1946 (approx.) – 2003 (inventory)] (in German). Online Catalogue of the State Archives Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  10. "Una famosa pareja suiza se envenena asesorada por un grupo pro eutanasia". El País (in Spanish). 1995-03-21. Archived from the original on 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  11. "History of the R. Geigy Foundation". Rudolf Geigy Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-12-13. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  12. "About the R. Geigy Foundation Award". Rudolf Geigy Foundation. Archived from the original on 2017-11-05. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
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