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Lewis Sarett, a native of Champaign, Illinois, was born in 1917 and later attended Northwestern University, where he graduated in 1939. He also received a Ph.D. from Princeton University shortly before joining the Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, N.J. as a research chemist.
In 1944, Sarett created the first synthetic cortisone for Merck, as part of a U.S. government effort to improve military medicine. It's true value was unearthed four years later at the Mayo Clinic when the hormone was proven to be effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Sarett and his colleagues later initiated an alternative synthesis using raw materials derived from coal, air, lime and water, which later led to other alternative processes which were independent of naturally-occuring starting materials. That work was Sarett's greatest achievement and he received the American Chemical Society Award for Creative Chemistry in 1964, one of several honors and awards he collected during his lifetime. In addition to his patents, Sarett also collaborated on more than 100 technical papers and patent abstracts.
The above information was supplied by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., Room 1D01-Crystal Plaza 3, 2021 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202. Videotapes and printed materials are currently available, including the National Inventors Hall of Fame Book of Inventor Profiles ($3.00).
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