Carl Djerassi
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Carl Djerassi (October 29, 1923 – January 30, 2015) was a Bulgarian, Austrian and American chemist, novelist, and playwright best known for his contribution to the development of oral contraceptive pills. He also elucidated the structure of steroids, an area in which he published over 1,000 papers.
He participated in the invention in 1951, together with Mexican Luis E. Miramontes and Mexican-Hungarian George Rosenkranz, of the progestin norethisterone—which, unlike progesterone, remained effective when taken orally and was far stronger than the naturally occurring hormone. His preparation was first administered as an oral contraceptive to animals by Gregory Goodwin Pincus and Min Chueh Chang and to women by John Rock.
Djerassi is also the author of several novels in the "science-in-fiction" genre, including Cantor's Dilemma, in which he explores the ethics of modern scientific research through his protagonist, Dr. Cantor. He also wrote Chemistry in Theatre: Insufficiency, Phallacy or both which demonstrate the potential pedagogic value of using dialogic style and plot structure of plays with special focus on chemistry.
