Julius Stieglitz

Who was Julius Stieglitz?

Julius Stieglitz was an American chemist of German Jewish origin. He was a teacher and organic chemist with a major interest in pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry.

During the early stages of his career, he worked for Parke-Davis & Co. in Detroit as a toxicologist. After attending private and public schools in New York during his early years, both he and his twin brother Leopold were sent to Germany for their higher education. He went to the Gymnasium in Germany and studied at the University of Berlin, where he received his Phd in chemistry in 1889 with Ferdinand Tiemann. Following a short period of study with Victor Meyer at Göttingen, he returned to the U.S. in 1890. In 1892 Stieglitz started working at the University of Chicago, where his whole career until his retirement took place.

Julius and his twin brother Leopold were born in Hoboken, New Jersey May 26, 1867 to Edward Stieglitz and Hedwig Ann Werner. His elder brother was the famous photographer Alfred Stieglitz. He married Anna Stieffel August 28, 1891.

He began his career at the University of Chicago in 1892 as an unpaid docent, lecturing without salary and sustaining himself from student donations. In 1893 he was appointed assistant professor, and moved up through the ranks to become professor of Chemistry in 1905. He served as department chair from 1915-1933.