Eduard Buchner is credited with introducing the field of modern enzyme chemistry. His research put an end to the widely accepted theory that fermentation of sugar to alcohol required the action of living (vital) yeast, which was promoted by such leading scientists as the French chemist Louis Pasteur. His work also discredited the mechanists' view that decomposing yeast cells acted as the catalyst for such change. For his pioneering efforts to scientifically explain the ancient process of fermentation, and for initiating the systematic study of enzymes, Buchner received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1907. In addition to being an outstanding chemist, he was a German patriot and soldier.

Eduard Buchner was born in Munich, Germany, May 20, 1860. He was descended from an old and scholarly Bavarian family. His father, Ernst Buchner, was a professor of obstetrics and forensic medicine, and the editor of a medical publication. Buchner's mother was...