Carl Djerassi is quite possibly the reason for
women's sexual freedom. At a time when
women and
sex were seen as immoral and taboo, Professor Djerassi came and started a
sexual revolution. He allowed women to take control of their bodies and empower them. They no longer had to be confined to the house as a
housewife and
mother, they could now control when they were to get
pregnant.
This invention still remains controversial today, but
the pill saves lives. It helps prevent
ovarian cancer, and helps women regulate hormone levels. It controls the amount of
pain and discomfort related to the menstrual cycle. And controls the amount of children born into unhealthy situations.
He is the son of two
Jewish doctors. He was born in
Austria in 1923 and grew up in
Vienna. Being Jewish he was forced to escape the
Nazis in 1938. At
16 years old he arrived in
New York with no money. Only a few years later her graduated with honors from
Kenyon College in
Ohio. And received his doctorate at the
University of Wisconsin.
During his first job as a
chemist he helped discover a new
antihistamine,
Pyribenzamine. At another job with
Syntex lab in
Mexico City he directed the first synthesis of the an
oral contraceptive for women in 1951. Because of this he is seen as the father of the
birth control pill. For this act of genius and revolutionary thought he received the
National Medal of Science, the first
Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and was inducted into the
National Inventors hall of fame.
Starting in 1959 Carl Djerassi has been a Professor of
Chemistry at
Stanford, president of Syntex Research, and founder of
Zeocon. He also is a published author. He has published an autobiography, short stories, poems, novels and memoirs. He recently stopped working and researching at Stanford and now lives in
San Francisco with his wife.
Editors note:
Carl Djerassi died on January 30, 2015 from complications of liver and bone cancer. He was 91 years old.