Georg Wilhelm Steinkopf was born on 28 June 1879 in
Staßfurt, in the
Prussian
Province of Saxony in the
German Empire, the son of Gustav Friedrich Steinkopf, a merchant, and his wife Elise Steinkopf (née Heine). In 1898 he began studying
chemistry and
physics at the
University of Heidelberg. In 1899 he moved to the
Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe (today the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), where he finished his studies with a degree as
Diplomingenieur in 1905. In Karlsruhe, he also met his future colleagues
Fritz Haber and
Roland Scholl. After receiving his
Doctor of Science and eventually his
Habilitation in 1909, he worked as an
associate professor at the
TU Karlsruhe until 1914, when he
volunteered for service in World War I. In 1916 Fritz Haber, who was now the director of the
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (
KWIPC, today the
Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society) in Berlin, invited Steinkopf to join his institute as the head of a team devoted to research on
chemical weapons. Together with
chemical engineer Wilhelm Lommel, Steinkopf developed a method for the large-scale production of bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, commonly known as mustard gas. Mustard gas was subsequently assigned the
acronym LOST (LOmmel/STeinkopf) by the German military. Steinkopf's work on mustard gas and related substances had a negative impact on his health, which caused him to switch to another department of the KWIPC in 1917, supervising the production of gas ammunition. Although Fritz Haber wanted him to stay in Berlin, Steinkopf moved to
Dresden after the end of World War I. Succeeding as the associate professor in
organic chemistry at the
Technische Universität Dresden, he worked there from 1919 until his retirement. His research focussed on organic
arsenic compounds,
thiophene compounds, and the formation of
petroleum. In 1924, Steinkopf became a member of the
Beirat des Heereswaffenamts (
Heereswaffenamt advisory council), an agency of the German military responsible for weapons research and development. He worked under strict secrecy and most of his friends and colleagues in Dresden did not know about this activity. After the
Machtergreifung of the
National Socialists in 1933,
Reichswehrminister Werner von Blomberg demanded the
Saxonian Volksbildungsministerium (Ministry of the People's Education) to show more recognition for Steinkopf's work during World War I. In 1935, Steinkopf was promoted to
full professor, and continued to work at the
TU Dresden until his retirement in 1940. His health being fragile due to his work with mustard gas and related substances, Steinkopf died on 12 March 1949 in
Stuttgart. Aside from his scientific research, Steinkopf wrote several
poems,
novellas, and
novels. ==Notable works==