George Reiveschl

University of Cincinnati: Notable Figures

George Rieveschl

The University of Cincinnati’s biological sciences and chemistry building, Rieveschl Hall, is named in honor George Rieveschl. Rieveschl was a chemical engineer who invented the well-known antihistamine, Benadryl.¹

Rieveschl Hall, one of the University of Cincinnati’s science buildings, named in honor of George Rieveschl.

(Courtesy of University Of Cincinnati)

Rieveschl was born in Lockland, Ohio in 1916. He graduated from the Ohio Mechanics Institute of Technology in 1933, with aspirations of being a commercial artist. Rieveschl searched diligently for an art-related job, filling out approximately 200 job applications, but he was not offered employment for any of them. Rieveschl later told the Cincinnati Post, “If I had found an art job back in the ’30s, I would have taken it. It seemed like bad luck at the time, but it ended up working out pretty well.”²

Unable to fulfill his dreams as an artist, Rieveschl decided to pursue chemistry instead. He enrolled in the University of Cincinnati’s chemistry program, paying the then $35 per semester tuition rate³ or about $600 in 2011 dollars.⁴ As the University has grown, so has the cost, with 2011 tuition being $10,419 a year for Ohio students and $24,942 for out-of-state students.⁵

Upon completion of a doctoral degree in 1940, Rieveschl began working as an assistant professor at the University. During his tenure, Rieveschl conducted research investigating muscle-relaxing medications. His work ultimately led to the development of Benadryl. Realizing the potential benefit for persons suffering from allergies, hay fever, and hives, Rieveschl left the university and began clinical trials for Parke-Davis pharmaceuticals. Benadryl was approved by the FDA in 1946 and is still sold in stores today. George Rieveschl passed away in 2007, at the age of 91.⁶

^{1. Dennis Hevesi. “George Rieveschl, 91, Allergy Reliever, Dies.” The New York Times, 29 September 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/business/29rieveschl.html (accessed October 4, 2011).}

^{2. Ibid.}

^{3. Ibid.}

^{4. “Inflation Rate Calculator,” InflationData, http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_calculators/inflation_rate_calculator.asp (accessed October 24, 2011).}

^{5. “UC Facts,” University of Cincinnati, http://www.uc.edu/about/ucfactsheet.html#tuition (accessed October 24, 2011).}

^{6. Hevesi}

Images

University of Cincinnati’s Rieveschl Hall, University of Cincinnati, https://webapps.uc.edu/ucit/eclassroom/bldg.asp?building=rievschl (accessed October 24, 2011).

George Rieveschl in University of Cincinnati laboratory, Lloyd Library and Museum, http://www.lloydlibrary.org/archives/inventories/rieveschl.htm (accessed October 4, 2011).

George Rieveschl holding antihistamine model, Science Photo Library, http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/228205/enlarge (accessed October 4, 2011).

Photograph of Rieveschl with a model of the antihistamine, Benadryl.

(Courtesy of Science Photo Library)