Robert Burns Woodward was an American chemist who received the Nobel Prize for his work on complicated natural compounds. His widowed mother raised him alone, and he studied extensively at home from an early age. His propensity for extracurricular study nearly cost him his seat at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In only four years, he received both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from MIT. His first accomplishment, the synthesis of quinotoxine, was done at the age of twenty-seven. Later, he focused mostly on determining the structure of and synthesizing various natural compounds. His papers included the structural determination of complicated natural products, the synthesis of therapeutic substances, and the linking of quantum mechanics and organic chemistry. His technique was distinctive in that he maintained tight ties with industry, which frequently supported his projects. His accomplishments in the academic realm were no less remarkable. He was awarded 26 honors and 45 honorary degrees by prestigious universities. In addition, he instructed over 200 doctorate and postdoctoral students.
Youth and Early Life
Robert Burns Woodward was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 10, 1917. One year after his birth, his father, Arthur Chester Woodward, died during the influenza pandemic. Although his mother Margaret (née Burns) remarried, her second husband quickly abandoned her. Therefore, Robert was raised by his mother alone.
Initially, he attended a public elementary school. He was later admitted to Quincy High School, a public secondary school in the Boston suburbs. However, he was primarily self-taught and read extensively at home.
Through the German Consulate in Boston, he acquired chemical periodicals from Verlag Chemie in 1928 due to his thirst for knowledge. Then, at the age of fourteen, he purchased Practical Methods of Organic Chemistry by Ludwig Gattermann and independently conducted all the experiments described in the book.
Woodward enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1933. Similarly, he disregarded the formal study courses and focused solely on chemistry. Consequently, he was barred from the fall semester of 1934.
James Flack Norris, a professor of organic chemistry, interceded on his behalf so as not to lose such a gifted pupil. He ensured that Woodward would be permitted to take the exams without attending lessons. Consequently, he was readmitted to MIT for the 1935 autumn semester.
Woodward obtained a B.S. in 1936 and a Ph.D. in 1937. His dissertation focused on the feminine steroid hormone estrone. 1940 saw the publication of many scientific publications in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Robert Burn’s Career
Robert Burns Woodward began his career as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois in the summer of 1937; however, within six months, he moved to Harvard University as a Junior Fellow. He remained at Harvard University until 1979 when he passed away.
In 1938, his fellowship expired. In the same year, he was invited to join the Society of Fellows. The post gave him the independence to conduct his research independently. On the other hand, he need colleagues to do his experiments, something the post did not permit.
Therefore, he accepted the position of Chemistry Instructor in 1941. During this time period, Woodworth wrote a number of influential articles on the relationship between the UV spectrum and structure. It eventually led to the development of “Woodward’s Rules.”
However, it was uncertain whether he would have a long-term role at Harvard, so he pondered transferring to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena or the University of California in Barkley. But he was not required to take such action; the opportunity presented itself from an unexpected source.
In 1942, the inventor and CEO of the Polaroid Corporation, Edwin Land, offered him the chance to work on quinine. It was a crucial component for the manufacture of their light-polarizing sheets and films, but its supply was impacted by the Second World War.
In the same year, Woodworth invented a light-polarizing, chemically simple substitute for quinine. Afterward, he requested Land’s assistance in synthesizing quinine. The construction began in February 1943.
Woodworth and his colleagues accomplished the synthesis of their critical intermediate, quinotoxine, on 10 April 1944, based on the work of Paul Rabe in 1908. It propelled his career and brought him international recognition.
Woolworth was also appointed as an assistant professor at Harvard University in 1944. Subsequently, he began working on industrially useful syntheses of patulin (an antibiotic), morphine, protein, and other substances. He also proposed the -lactam formula for penicillin in the same year.
Woodworth became an Associate Professor in 1946 and held that position until 1950. During this time, he focused on steroids, a topic on which he had conducted doctoral research. Despite his interest shift, he was able to discover the structure of strychnine and patulin in 1947 and 1948, respectively.
In 1950, he was promoted to full professor, and in 1951, he synthesized cortisone and cholesterol. At the time, other scientists were working on cortisone, competing to be the first to synthesize this miracle medication’; nevertheless, Woodworth ultimately won the race.
He held the position of Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University from 1953 to 1960. In addition, he determined the structure of Terramycin in 1953.
The following year, in 1954, he discovered the structure of strychnine and lanosterol and synthesized these two substances. His strychnine research was also conducted in the face of intense worldwide competition.
In 1956, he subsequently identified the structure of reserpine and synthesized the substance. It is regarded to be his first important work, which not only solved the raw material shortage problem but also led to its industrialization.
From 1958 to 1964, he successfully determined the structure of gliotoxin, ellipticine, calycanthine, oleandomycin, streptonigri, and tetrodotoxin. These works continue to serve as a benchmark in the field of organic chemistry.
In 1960, he conducted a complete synthesis of chlorophyll. Next, he produced tetracycline, colchicine, and cephalosporin C between 1962 and 1965.
In 1963, he acquired the joint role of Donner Professor of Science and Woodward Research Institute Director in Basel. Also in the 1960s, he served as a Consultant for Polaroid’s color photographic process development.
His second significant undertaking, the synthesis of vitamin B-12, was likewise initiated in the early 1960s. He partnered with Albert Eschenmoser of Zurich on this project. Before this research was synthesized in 1973, about one hundred undergraduates and postdoctoral fellows worked on it for years.
Also in 1973, he and Roald Hoffmann developed guidelines for understanding the stereochemistry of the products of chemical processes, based on observations made during the B12 synthesis. It is currently referred to as the Woodward-Hoffmann guidelines. However, he did not stop there and worked till his death.
When he passed away in 1979, he was engaged in the synthesis of erythromycin. In addition to his research, Woodward produced or co-authored more than 200 publications and trained roughly the same number of Ph.D. and post-doctoral students, many of whom went on to become eminent academics.
Robert’s Major Opera
The synthesis of reserpine is considered Woodward’s first significant work. Previously, the sedative natural product was imported from India. Not only has the product’s synthesis made it more accessible, but it has also brought about significant advances in the treatment of mental diseases.
The synthesis of the complex coenzyme Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin) is one of his other key accomplishments. The work, completed in partnership with Albert Eschenmoser of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is regarded as a milestone in the history of organic chemistry.
Awards & Achievements
He was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in 1953.
In 1958, he was elected as a foreign member of London’s Royal Society.
Robert Burns Woodward was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1965 “for his exceptional contributions to the art of organic synthesis.”
From 1966 until 1971, he was a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation.
Personal History and Legacy
Robert Woodward married Irja Pullman in 1938. Siiri Anna and Jean Kirsten were the couple’s two daughters.
Later in 1946, Woodward wed Eudoxia Muller, an established artist, and chemistry researcher. They were the parents of Crystal Elisabeth and Eric Richard Arthur. In 1972, the marriage terminated in divorce.
Woodward was a habitual smoker who frequently re-lit his cigarette from the previous one. He slept very little and labored from midday until 3 a.m.
He died of a heart attack in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 8, 1979.
Woodward’s rules, his legacy, are sets of empirically determined principles that attempt to forecast the wavelength of a certain compound’s absorption maximum in an ultraviolet-visible spectrum.
Woodward–Hoffmann guidelines predict the barrier heights of pericyclic reactions based on the conservation of orbital symmetry.
Estimated Net Worth
Robert is one of the wealthiest and most well-known chemists. According to our investigation of Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Robert Burns Woodward has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.
Trivia
Hoffmann received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to the Woodward-Hoffmann rules (shared with Kenichi Fukui). There is little question that Woodward would have won the Nobel Prize for a second time if he had been alive at that time.