Talk:Vladimir Prelog

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[edit] From Croatia???

As it can be seen clearly from his autobiography [[1]], his birthplace is

Sarajevo in the province of Bosnia, which then belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy and later, in 1918, became part of Yugoslavia.

Also,

For many years, when still a Yugoslav citizen, I was already a Swiss patriot and in 1959 I obtained Swiss citizenship. However, I consider myself a world citizen and I am very grateful to my adopted country that it allows me to be one.

His education and scientific work and achievements took place in Czechoslovakia and Switzerland:

The period 1924 to 1929 was spent studying Chemistry at the Czech Institute of Technology in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The supervisor of my thesis was Professor Emil Votocek, one of the prominent founders of chemical research in Czechoslovakia. My mentor, however, was Rudolf Lukes, then lecturer and later successor of Votocek to the chair of organic chemistry. To Lukes I owe the greatest part of my early scientific education, and he remained my close friend until his premature death in 1960.

At this critical point I received an invitation of Richard Kuhn to give some lectures in Germany, and shortly afterwards Leopold Ruzicka, whom I had asked for help, invited me to visit him on the way. With these two invitations, it was possible for me to escape with my wife to Switzerland. Through Ruzicka I soon obtained generous support of CIBA Ltd. and started work in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. The cooperation with Ruzicka lasted many years and enabled me to make my slow progress up the academic hierarchical ladder. Starting as assistant, I became "Privat Dozent", "Titularprofessor" associate (ausserordentlicher) professor and in 1952 full professor ad personam. Finally, in 1957, I succeeded Ruzicka as head of the Laboratory, a height that I never dreamt of when I was a student in Prague. In becoming director of the Laboratory I reached, according to Peter's principle, the level of my incompetence and I tried hard for several years to step down. Surrounded and supported by a group of very able young colleagues, I finally succeeded in introducing a rotating chairmanship from which I was exempted. So far this has worked very satisfactorily and it may have helped some of my colleagues to resist tempting offers from other Universities.

As to Croatia, where he lived and worked for over 15 years,

This is why I was so eager to accept the position of a lecturer at the University of Zagreb in 1935. I did not know that I had to fulfil there all the duties of a full professor and to live on a salary of an underpaid assistant

After the German occupation of Zagreb in 1941 it became clear that I was likely to get into serious trouble if I remained there.

Bear in mind that, that time, Zagreb and so-called Independent State of Croatia were ruled by Croatian murderous Nazi Pavelic's regime.

So, what is the point of writing nonsenses like

Thanks to him and Ružička, both Nobel prize winners from Croatia, Zurich has become one of the most significant centers of modern organic chemistry.??? --Purger 22:37, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

I happened to know the late Prof. Prelog, and I once listened to one of his short speeches on that matter. He emphasized his gratitude for the opportunity to be a naturalized Swiss citizen (though he never mastered Swiss German), and he pointed out that in Croatia, in the times of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and ever since, there were so many upheavals, but whatever happened, if you were an honest person, you always had to be in opposition. Whoever happened to be the ruler, you simply couldn't be honest and pro-government. In Switzerland, he said, an honest person can be pro-government or anti-government at any time without jeopardizing his honesty. And that's what he liked about Switzerland. So it's true that he was from Croatia, but it's also true that he was very glad not to be in Croatia. 85.212.189.181 04:10, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

No, it is not true that he was from Croatia! Just read his autobiography. He lived there (Croatia) for over fifteen years - and the same way he might be considered as someone from Czechoslovakia or even more rightful - from Switzerland - where he lived and worked for more than fifty years. Also, the 'speech' you mentioned belongs to the tell-tales - if it is not verifiable. If claiming something to be a truth - please, provide the way of verifying it.--Purger 19:23, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

In view of his highly cosmopolitan attitude and Swiss passport, the matter of his Croatian origin should not be overemphasized. But it is still a fact that his father, Milan Prelog, was a Croatian (though with some Austrian ancestors) and his mother Mara was a Croatian (with some Italian ancestors), and his mother tongue was Croatian. That's why he writes, on page 3 of his autobiography: "The government tried to lure young and qualified Croats from Croatia ... to settle in the new province [Bosnia] by various inducements. Thus in 1905, my father came as a young high-school teacher from Croatia to Sarajewo, where I was born".

Yet anoter tell-tale or you have a verifiable source? The autobiography on the pages of the Nobel Prize Committee does not have page 3.--Purger 05:22, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

I mean his autobiography, a book of 120 pages entitled "My 132 Semesters of Chemistry Studies", published by the American Chemical Society, Washington DC 1991, ISBN 0-8412-1772-6. 85.212.175.202 18:31, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

So he clearly describes his father as a Croatian. The term "from Croatia" in the article is simply meant to refer to this undeniable ethnic origin, notwithstanding the fact that he later became a Swiss citizen and that his attitude was entirely cosmopolitan anyway. Hence it's unfair to call it nonsense. But it would be more precise to write, instead of "both Nobel prize winners from Croatia", "both Swiss Nobel prize winners who were ethnic Croatians". 85.212.204.34 20:37, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

Hey!

I have changed the text cause mr Prelog is not FROM CROATIA, HE IS FROM BOSNIA!

Sorry, if you read his biography.. he was born in Sarajevo, which is in Bosnia... but do you know why? Because his father worked there in school. His parents are originally from Croatia and as soon as his father got job in Zagreb, they moved.

Actually he is from Croatia, the fact he is born in Bosnia and Herzegovina (it was Yugoslavia actually) means nothing. His parents were on work (his father primarily) in Sarajevo and he was thus born there, shortly after his birth he and his family came back to Croatia where he went to school and grew up, went to school and worked. Later he moved to Switzerland due to work where he ultimately died. He and his parents and whole family were ethnic Croats. He can be only Croatian. For example the fact Niko Kranjcar was born in Vienna (Austria) doesn't makes him an Austrian as he was born there while his father worked (played) there for the local football club. --Factanista 19:02, 24 November 2006 (UTC)