1. Valerius Cordus was a German physician, botanist and pharmacologist who authored the first pharmacopoeia North of the Alps and one of the most celebrated herbals in history.
12 Facts About Valerius Cordus
1. 2.
Valerius Cordus is widely credited with developing a method for synthesizing ether.
3.
In 1515, Valerius Cordus was born either in the city of Erfurt in what is today Thuringia, or somewhere in the westwardly adjacent state of Hesse.
4.
Valerius Cordus began his higher education in 1527, at the young age of 12, when he enrolled at the University of Marburg, studying botany and pharmacy under the tutelage of his father, who had been appointed professor of medicine at the newly established university in the same year.
5.
Valerius Cordus completed his bachelor's degree in 1531, whereupon he furthered his studies by enrolling at the University of Leipzig, and by working at an apothecary shop in Leipzig owned by his uncle.
6.
Valerius Cordus's lectures proved popular, and his students' lecture notes were published posthumously in 1549 as Annotations on Dioscorides.
7.
In 1540 Valerius Cordus discovered and described a revolutionary technique for synthesizing ether, which involved adding sulfuric acid to ethyl alcohol.
8.
Valerius Cordus stayed in Padua and Venice during the winter and next spring.
9.
Valerius Cordus was hit on the leg by a horse, causing great pain, and possibly an infection.
10.
When Valerius Cordus showed signs of improvement, the rest embarked on a trip to Naples.
11.
Valerius Cordus was interred at Santa Maria dell'Anima, the German Catholic church in central Rome.
12.
Valerius Cordus was an impressive linguist, and spoke eloquently on philosophy.