Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg

Helmut_Hasse

Helmut Hasse (German: [ˈhasə]; 25 August 1898 – 26 December 1979) was a German mathematician working in algebraic number theory, known for fundamental contributions to class field theory, the application of p-adic numbers to local class field theory and diophantine geometry (Hasse principle), and to local zeta functions.

Franz_Altheim

Franz Altheim (6 October 1898 – 17 October 1976) was a German classical philologist and historian who specialized in the history of classical antiquity. During the 1930s and 1940s, Altheim served the Nazi state as a member of Ahnenerbe, a think tank controlled by the Schutzstaffel (SS), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, and as a spy for the SS.

Victor_Klemperer

Victor Klemperer (9 October 1881 – 11 February 1960) was a German scholar who also became known as a diarist. His journals, published in Germany in 1995, detailed his life under the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the German Democratic Republic.
The three volumes of his diaries have been published in English translations: I Shall Bear Witness, To the Bitter End, and The Lesser Evil. The first two cover the period of the Third Reich have since become standard sources and have been extensively quoted. His book Lingua Tertii Imperii, published in English as The Language of the Third Reich, studies how Nazi propaganda manipulated and influenced the German language.

Daniel_Vorländer

Daniel Vorländer (11 June 1867 – 8 June 1941) was a German chemist who synthesized most of the liquid crystals known until his retirement in 1935.
Vorländer was born in Eupen in Rhenish Prussia. He studied chemistry at Kiel, Munich, and Berlin, after which he became a professor at University of Halle-Wittenberg.
Vorländer applied his knowledge of molecular structure to select those exhibiting the crystalline liquid state. In particular a linear molecular geometry was conductive. "Over the years Vorländer and his students synthesized hundreds of liquid crystalline compounds. An interesting discovery was that amongst the slimy liquid crystals were many soap and soap-like compounds." (Dunmur & Sluckin p 48)
Vorländer served as a volunteer during World War I, during which he received the Iron Cross. He died in Halle.

Joseph_von_Mering

Josef, Baron von Mering (28 February 1849, in Cologne – 5 January 1908, at Halle an der Saale, Germany) was a German physician.
Working at the University of Strasbourg, Mering was the first person to discover (in conjunction with Oskar Minkowski) that one of the pancreatic functions is the production of insulin, a hormone which controls blood sugar levels.
Mering was curious about the pancreas, a comma shaped organ, situated between the stomach and the small intestine. In an effort to discover its function, he removed the organ from a dog. The dog was then noticed frequently urinating on the floor, although it was house trained. Mering realised that this was a symptom of diabetes and tested the urine, which was found to be high in sugar, confirming his suspicion.
Josef von Mering helped to discover barbiturates, a class of sedative drugs used for insomnia, epilepsy, anxiety, and anesthesia. In 1903, he published observations that barbital (then known as diethyl-barbituric acid) has sedative properties in humans. In 1904, he helped to launch barbital under the brand name Veronal. Veronal was the first commercially available barbiturate sedative in any country. Von Mering collaborated with the chemist Emil Fischer, who was also involved in the discovery of barbital.

Hans_Vaihinger

Hans Vaihinger (German: [hans ˈfaɪɪŋɐ]; September 25, 1852 – December 18, 1933) was a German philosopher, best known as a Kant scholar and for his Die Philosophie des Als Ob (The Philosophy of 'As if'), published in 1911 although its statement of basic principles had been written more than thirty years earlier.