Ralph F. Hirschmann

Ralph F. Hirschmann (born May 6, 1922, Fürth, Ger.—died June 20, 2009, Lansdale, Pa., U.S.) was an American chemist who is best known for his development of techniques for the chemical synthesis of peptides. Hirschmann’s work significantly impacted the area of medicinal chemistry, proving fundamental to breakthroughs in drug development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Hirschmann was the youngest of three boys, and his father worked as a banker. In the late...