Walther Birkmayer
Walther Birkmayer (born May 15, 1910 in Vienna ; † December 10, 1996 there ) was an Austrian neurologist , psychiatrist and university professor.
Life
Walther Birkmayer received his doctorate in 1936 from the University of Vienna. med. and began his professional career as an assistant at the University Psychiatric Clinic in Vienna. He was a member of the NSDAP as early as 1932 and became an SS member in 1936 . In 1939 he was the head of the department for race politics of the NSDAP , where he was removed from office because of non- Aryan descent. He continued to work in the mental hospital, where he was suspended after the war ended in 1945.
In 1954 Birkmayer became a university professor and head of the neurological department in Vienna-Lainz. He also became head of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Neurochemistry.
In 1961, together with the pharmacologist Oleh Hornykiewicz, Birkmayer succeeded in developing an essential part of today's standard therapy for Parkinson's disease : the drug levodopa , later combined with the decarboxylase inhibitor benserazide . At the time, this marked a breakthrough in the treatment of the disease.
Walther Birkmayer died in Vienna in 1996 and was given an honorary grave in the Neustift cemetery . This dedication was revoked in 2015.
Awards
- 1975: Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st class
- 1980: Gold Medal of Honor of the Federal Capital Vienna
- 1990: Great decoration of honor for services to the Republic of Austria
literature
- Ernst Klee : The dictionary of persons on the Third Reich . Fischer, 2nd updated edition, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Walther Birkmayer in the catalog of the German National Library
- Entry on Walther Birkmayer in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
Individual evidence
- ^ Walther Birkmayer in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Birkmayer, Walther |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 15, 1910 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 10, 1996 |
| Place of death | Vienna |