# Helmut Zahn

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{{Short description|German chemist (1916–2004)}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name        = Helmut Zahn
|image       =
|image_size =
|caption     = Helmut Zahn
|birth_date  = 13 June 1916
|birth_place = [Erlangen](/source/Erlangen), [Germany](/source/Germany)
|death_date  = {{death date and age|2004|11|14|1916|6|13|df=y}}
|death_place = [Aachen](/source/Aachen), [Germany](/source/Germany)
|field       = [textile chemistry](/source/textile_chemistry)
|work_institution  = [RWTH Aachen](/source/RWTH_Aachen)<br>[University of Heidelberg](/source/University_of_Heidelberg)
|alma_mater        = [University of Karlsruhe (TH)](/source/University_of_Karlsruhe_(TH))
|known_for   = first synthesis of [Insulin](/source/Insulin)
}}

'''Helmut Zahn''' (born 13 June 1916 in [Erlangen](/source/Erlangen); died 14 November 2004 in [Aachen](/source/Aachen)) was a German [chemist](/source/chemist) who is often credited as the first to synthesize [Insulin](/source/Insulin) in 1963. His results synthesizing insulin were achieved almost simultaneously with that of [Panayotis Katsoyannis](/source/Panayotis_Katsoyannis) at the [University of Pittsburgh](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh).<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkEEAAAAMBAJ&q=insulin&pg=PA47 | title=First Man-made Protein in History | first=Fritz | last=Goro | pages=47–9 | magazine=Life | publisher=Time, Inc. | volume=56 | issue=19 | location=New York, NY | date=1964-05-08 | accessdate=2009-11-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ula72_FSwy8C&q=Panayotis+Katsoyannis&pg=PP11 | title=Insulin & Related Proteins – Structure to Function and Pharmacology | editor1-first=Matthias | editor1-last=Federwisch | editor2-first=Markus Leyck | editor2-last=Dieken | editor3-first=Pierre | editor3-last= De Meyts | publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers |  pages=ix | isbn=1-4020-0655-1 | year=2002 | location=Dordrecht, Netherlands | accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url= http://zfn.mpdl.mpg.de/data/Reihe_B/18/ZNB-1963-18b-1120_n.pdf | title=Synthese der Insulinketten und ihre Kombination zu insulinaktiven Präparaten | journal=Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B | editor1-first=J. | editor1-last=Meienhofer | editor2-first=E. | editor2-last=Schnabel | editor3-first=H. | editor3-last= Bremer | editor4-first=O. | editor4-last=Brinkhoff | editor5-first=R. | editor5-last=Zabel | editor6-first=W. | editor6-last=Sroka | editor7-first=H. | editor7-last=Klostermeyer | editor8-first=D. | editor8-last=Brandenburg | editor9-first=T. | editor9-last=Okuda | editor10-first=H. | editor10-last=Zahn | publisher=De Gruyter | issue=18b | pages=1120–1121 | issn=0932-0776 | year=1963 | doi = 10.1515/znb-1963-1223 | s2cid=97505793 | accessdate=2020-08-14}}</ref> His work was not honoured by the [Nobel Prize](/source/Nobel_Prize) because in 1958 [Frederick Sanger](/source/Frederick_Sanger) was the first who discovered the chemical structure of [Insulin](/source/Insulin).

Helmut Zahn studied chemistry at the [University of Karlsruhe (TH)](/source/University_of_Karlsruhe_(TH)) and received his PhD in 1940. He [habilitate](/source/habilitate)d at the [University of Heidelberg](/source/University_of_Heidelberg) and became director of the ''Deutsches Wollforschungsinstitut'' at the [RWTH Aachen University](/source/RWTH_Aachen_University) in 1952.

==Decorations and awards==
* Honorary doctorates from the universities of [Barcelona](/source/University_of_Barcelona), [Belfast](/source/University_of_Belfast), [Bradford](/source/University_of_Bradford), [Düsseldorf](/source/University_of_D%C3%BCsseldorf), [Leeds](/source/University_of_Leeds) and [Liège](/source/University_of_Li%C3%A8ge).
* 1979: [Austrian Decoration for Science and Art](/source/Austrian_Decoration_for_Science_and_Art)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/AB/AB_10542/imfname_251156.pdf | title = Reply to a parliamentary question | language = German | page=548 |trans-title=| accessdate = 4 February 2013 }}</ref>
* 1987: [Wilhelm Exner Medal](/source/Wilhelm_Exner_Medal).<ref>Editor, ÖGV. (2015). Wilhelm Exner Medal. Austrian Trade Association. ÖGV. Austria.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Helmut}}
Category:1916 births
Category:2004 deaths
Category:People from Erlangen
Category:20th-century German chemists
Category:Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni
Category:Heidelberg University alumni
Category:Academic staff of RWTH Aachen University
Category:Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Helmut Zahn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Zahn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Zahn?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.