George Rosenkranz
Encyclopedia
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
scientist in steroid research and a professional bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
player. He was born in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, educated in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and lived in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
for 66 years. At Syntex
Syntex
Laboratorios Syntex SA was a pharmaceutical company formed in Mexico City in 1944 by Russell Marker to manufacture therapeutic steroids from the Mexican yam....
corporation, he headed the research groups that synthesized a progestin
Progestin
A progestin is a synthetic progestogen that has progestinic effects similar to progesterone. The two most common uses of progestins are for hormonal contraception , and to prevent endometrial hyperplasia from unopposed estrogen in hormone replacement therapy...
used in some the first combined oral contraceptive pills and synthesized other useful steroids. He was the Chairman of the Board
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
of the corporation until his retirement in 1996.
Biography
Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1916, Rosenkranz studied chemical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of TechnologyETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
, where he also received a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree. His mentor and future Nobel Prize winner, Lavoslav Ružička
Lavoslav Ružicka
Lavoslav Ružička FRS born as Lavoslav Ružička was a Croatian scientist and winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry who worked most of his life in Switzerland...
, began Rosenkranz's interest in steroid research. However, as Nazi sympathizers were active in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. Ružička shielded Rosenkranz and other Jewish colleagues, but the scientists soon realized that their stay was putting pressure on their mentor. "We got together and we decided to leave Switzerland to protect him," Rosenkranz said in a 2002 article for the Pan American Health Organization's magazine.
He planned to go to Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, and chair a university organic chemistry department. However, when while waiting in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
for his ship to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. The United States immediately entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the traveller was stuck. Rosenkranz decided to make the best of his situation. He accepted the Cuban president Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
's offer to let all refugees stay in the country and work.
While there, he continued his Zurich work on steroid research. The important role of hormones in human health was already acknowledged by the scientists, but an easy and cheap way to recreate them did not exist yet. Rosenkranz tried using vegetables. He attracted the interest of Syntex
Syntex
Laboratorios Syntex SA was a pharmaceutical company formed in Mexico City in 1944 by Russell Marker to manufacture therapeutic steroids from the Mexican yam....
; the Mexican company had made a discovery of cabeza de negro, a toxic yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
from Mexican hills, produced a steroid that could be transformed into the hormone progesterone
Progesterone
Progesterone also known as P4 is a C-21 steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy and embryogenesis of humans and other species...
. Rosenkranz moved to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1945. However, after a year, the company's co-founders split, and professor Russell Marker
Russell Marker
Russell Earl Marker was an American chemist who invented the octane rating system when he was working at the Ethyl Corporation. Later in his career, he went on to found a steroid industry in Mexico when he successfully made synthetic progesterone from chemical constituents found in Mexican yams...
left and took his steroid formulas with him. Rosenkranz took his position.
It was a huge challenge. Rosenkranz had to figure out how to recreate Marker's chemical production processes. He didn't have much help: Syntex employed nine lab assistants and only one other chemist. He started working backward, analyzing samples of Marker's work to tease out the ingredients. At the time, Mexico lacked a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
program in chemistry, so Rosenkranz recruited researchers from Mexico and around the world. When he couldn't find enough fully trained local chemists, he helped set up an Institute of Chemistry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
. He and his colleagues regularly worked at Syntex during the day and then spent the evenings teaching chemistry there. His team was soon reinforced with bright, young chemists, such as Carl Djerassi
Carl Djerassi
Carl Djerassi is an Austrian-American chemist, novelist, and playwright best known for his contribution to the development of the first oral contraceptive pill . Djerassi is emeritus professor of chemistry at Stanford University.He participated in the invention in 1951, together with Mexican Luis E...
and Alejandro Zaffaroni
Alejandro Zaffaroni
Alejandro Zaffaroni is a serial entrepreneur who is responsible for founding several successful biotechnology companies in Silicon Valley....
. Rosenkranz also started the Institute for Molecular Biology in Palo Alto.
The hires paved the way for Syntex's next big discoveries. In the late 1940s, discovery of cortisone
Cortisone
Cortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,...
as an arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
treatment was a hot topic, but no one had been able to create it cheaply and quickly. Rosenkranz's team started working in two shifts, and the long hours of work paid off—in 1951, Rosenkranz and his fellow researchers first submitted a paper on the synthesis of cortisone.
Five months later, under the direction of Djerassi and Rosenkranz, Mexican chemistry student Luis E. Miramontes
Luis E. Miramontes
Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas , was a Mexican chemist known as the co-inventor of the progestin used in one of the first two oral contraceptives....
recreated norethindrone. The company reached an agreement with American company Parke-Davis
Parke-Davis
Parke-Davis is a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Although no longer an independent corporation, it was once America's oldest and largest drug maker, and played an important role in medical history.- History :...
to market their "superhormone" as a pregnancy aid. Before the two firms were able to complete the deal, other parties had realized a wider use for norethindrone—as a pregnancy inhibitor. Parke-Davis, worried that groups opposed to birth control
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
would boycott its other products, wouldn't market Syntex's product as a contraceptive. By 1962, a Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
division introduced Syntex's norethindrone product as a component of its birth control pill OrthoNovum. In 1964, Syntex came out with its own birth control product, Norinyl.
Rosenkranz understood that peer recognition, not just commercial success, was a key to keep scientists happy and productive. Unlike other pharmaceutical companies, Syntex published most of its steroid research. Between 1961 and 1962, scientists patented 1,378 new steroid compounds, 37% of those owned by Syntex.
"He's someone with enormously high internal standards and abilities, who somehow brings out the best in other people and has a certain infectious optimism, combined with a realistic approach" said Arnold Thackray, president of the Chemical Heritage Foundation
Chemical Heritage Foundation
The Chemical Heritage Foundation is a library, museum, and archive in Philadelphia that was founded in 1982. Its founding president was Arnold Thackray, who was winner of the Dexter Award in 1983, and who continued to serve as president thru 2009....
.
Rosenkranz gave up his executive positions at Syntex in 1982. Although technically retired for the past 25 years, Rosenkranz is still active in the industry. He is a member of the board of Digital Gene Technologies and president of the advisory board of ICT Mexicana.
Bridge
In addition to leadership in science, Rosenkranz is a world-class bridge player and one of the most successful in Mexico. He has won 12 North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
and has the rare distinction of having captured all four major team titles: the Grand Nationals
Grand National Teams
The Grand National Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
, Reisinger, Spingold and Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Trophy
The trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
. He has represented Mexico and USA in dozens of world championship events since the early Sixties.
In addition to his playing successes, he has also made significant contributions to bidding theory. He authored the Romex
Romex system
The Romex system is a bridge bidding system designed by the Mexican bridge expert George Rosenkranz. Key features of Romex are the multiple meanings attributed to certain bids, namely the Dynamic one notrump and the Mexican two diamonds....
bidding system, an extension of Standard American
Standard American
Standard American is a common bidding system for the game of bridge in the United States, also widely used in the rest of the world. This system, or a slight variant, is learned first by most beginners in the U.S. and may be referred to as 'Goren'; a dominant version used in on-line computer...
with many gadgets. He also invented the Rosenkranz double
Rosenkranz double
The Rosenkranz double and Rosenkranz redouble are elements of a bridge bidding convention invented by Dr. George Rosenkranz, collectively known as the Rosenkranz double...
and Rosenkranz redouble
Rosenkranz redouble
The Rosenkranz double and Rosenkranz redouble are elements of a bridge bidding convention invented by Dr. George Rosenkranz, collectively known as the Rosenkranz double. The calls are made by the partner of an overcaller to describe his top honor card holdings in the overcaller’s suit....
and wrote more than a dozen books on bridge including several with Alan Truscott
Alan Truscott
Alan Fraser Truscott was a bridge player, author and columnist. He wrote the daily bridge column for The New York Times for 41 years, from 1964 to 2005 and served as Executive Editor for all six editions of The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, 1964 to 2002.- Britain :Truscott was born in Brixton,...
or Phillip Alder.
Winner
- North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(12)- Master Mixed Teams (1) 1990
- Open Swiss Teams (1) 1991
- North American Swiss Teams (1) 1990
- Grand National Open Teams (1) 1981
- Men's Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1984, 1987
- Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1985
- Spingold Knockout Teams (2) 1976, 1984
- Vanderbilt Knockout Teams (3) 1975, 1976, 1982
Runners-up
- North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(15)- Blue Ribbon Pairs (1) 1974
- Silver Ribbon Pairs (1) 1992
- Master Mixed Teams (3) 1967, 1984, 1994
- Open Swiss Teams (2) 1998, 2003
- Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1975
- Open Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1990, 2000
- Spingold Knockout Teams (1) 1967
- Vanderbilt Knockout Teams (2) 1978, 2001
- Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1980, 1997
- Other notable 2nd places:
- USBC Bermuda Bowl qualifiers (1) 1982
Memberships
- New York Academy of Science
- University of Tel Aviv boardmember
- Weizmann Institute of Science in RehovotRehovotRehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,...
, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
boardmember
Awards
- Condecoracion Eduardo Liceaga, Mexican highest award for contributions to the health field.
- Dr. Leopoldo Rio de la Loza, Mexican National Prize in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Publications
- Bid Your Way to the Top
- Bridge – the Bidder's Game
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Trump Leads and Were Not Afraid to Ask
- More Tips for Tops
- Our Man Godfrey
- The Romex System of Bidding
- Tips for Tops
- Win with Romex
With Alan Truscott
Alan Truscott
Alan Fraser Truscott was a bridge player, author and columnist. He wrote the daily bridge column for The New York Times for 41 years, from 1964 to 2005 and served as Executive Editor for all six editions of The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, 1964 to 2002.- Britain :Truscott was born in Brixton,...
:
- Modern Ideas in Bidding
- Bidding on Target
With Phillip Alder:
- Bid to Win, Play for Pleasure
- Godfrey's Angels
- Godfrey's Bridge Challenge
- Godfrey's Stairway To The Stars