Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus was born in Berlin to Adolf and Margarete (Elster) Windaus on December 25, 1876. Young Windaus decided to become a physician after reading about the work of French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur and German physician and microbiologist Robert Koch. Windaus's career in science began at the University of Berlin in 1895. The chemistry lectures given by Emil Fischer there were to be major influences which would shape his future. After receiving a bachelor's degree in 1897 from the University of Berlin and abandoning any ideas of pursuing a career in medicine, he continued his studies at the University of Freiburg, where he was influenced by Heinrich Kiliani. Under Kiliani's direction he researched digitalis, which later was found to be a powerful stimulant to the heart and became widely used in the treatment of heart failure. Windaus wrote his dissertation on the chemistry of this substance and received...