Skip to main content

Ulrich Weiss Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS C 551

Abstract

Weiss achieved distinction in the fields of natural products chemistry, medicinal chemistry and synthetic methods. In 1955 he developed a method for synthetically transforming the analgesic Oxymorphone (marketed as Numorphan). While at NIH Weiss studied the analgesic properties of alkaloids (morphine, opium, heroin, codeine), and the synthesis of polyquinanes and polyquinenes.

Dates

  • 1929-1989

Extent

10 Linear Feet (8 boxes)

Creator

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Restrictions

Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access.

Copyright and Re-use Information

Donor's copyrights were transferred to the public domain. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.

Privacy Information

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Biographical Note

Ulrich Weiss was born on January 24, 1908 in Praque. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at Prague's German University and first worked as a chemist for the Norgine pharmaceutical company from 1930 to 1938. Because of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Weiss continued working for Norgine in France from 1938 to 1940. He emigrated to the United States in June 1941. In New York City he was a chemist for Endo Pharmaceuticals from 1941 to 1952. After brief tenures with the USPHS and the New York Botanical Garden, Weiss joined the National Institutes of Health. He was chief of the Physical Biology lab at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (NIAMD), later moving to the Chemical Physics lab at the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) where he remained for the rest of his career (1957-1978) and afterwards as scientist emeritus. He died in 1989.

Weiss achieved distinction in the fields of natural products chemistry, medicinal chemistry and synthetic methods. In 1955 he developed a method for synthetically transforming the analgesic Oxymorphone (marketed as Numorphan). While at NIH Weiss studied the analgesic properties of alkaloids (morphine, opium, heroin, codeine), and the synthesis of polyquinanes and polyquinenes. His interest in the biosynthesis of aromatic compounds resulted in coauthorship of a book. He was author or co-author of 130 publications.

Collection Summary

Corrrespondence, reprints, and other publications (10 l.f.; 1928-1989) document the professional career of Ulrich Weiss (1908-1989). The collection consists primarily of subject files accrued during Dr. Weiss' research, primarily at during his time at NIH. Professional correspondence with research colleagues (1947-1988) covers his entire time at NIH. Dr. Weiss's research interests are represented primarily by his collection of reprints on various chemical topics (1951-1988) and an incomplete set of articles Weiss authored or co-authored (1947-1988).

The papers are organized alphabetically within each series or subseries, and chronologically therein.

Abstract

Weiss achieved distinction in the fields of natural products chemistry, medicinal chemistry and synthetic methods. In 1955 he developed a method for synthetically transforming the analgesic Oxymorphone (marketed as Numorphan). While at NIH Weiss studied the analgesic properties of alkaloids (morphine, opium, heroin, codeine), and the synthesis of polyquinanes and polyquinenes.

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Gift, Mrs. Ulrich Weiss, 2/28/1990. Accession #631; Gift, Dr. Kenner Rice (NIDDK), 9/12/1990, Accession #648.

General

Processed by
James Labosier
Processing Completed
April 2005
Encoded by
James Labosier
Title
Finding Aid to the Ulrich Weiss Papers, 1929-1989
Status
Unverified Partial Draft
Author
Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program, History of Medicine Division
Date
April 2005
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English
Edition statement
1.0

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collection Collecting Area

Contact:
8600 Rockville Pike
Bldg 38/1E-21, MSC 3819
Bethesda MD 20894 US
1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656)