Leonidas Zervas

Leonidas Zervas
Leonidas Zervas
Λεωνίδας Ζέρβας
Born	21 May 1902; Megalopolis, Greece
Died	10 July 1980 (aged 78); Athens, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Alma mater	University of Athens; University of Berlin
Known for	Carboxybenzyl protecting group, Peptide synthesis
Spouse	Hildegard Lange
Awards	Member of the Academy of Athens (1956); Honorary Membership of the American Society of Biological Chemists (1969); Order of Scientific Merit (1st class) of the SR of Romania (1976); Foreign Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1976); Max Bergmann Golden Medal (1981);
	Scientific career
Fields	Organic chemistry
Institutions	Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Leather Research (Researcher, 1926–1929; Vice-Director, 1929–1934); Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (Lecturer, 1934–1937); Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Professor of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1937–1939); University of Athens (Professor of Organic Chemistry, 1939–1968); National Cancer Institute (Visiting scientist, 1956–1958); Greek Atomic Energy Commission (President, 1964–1965 & 1974–1975); Academy of Athens (President, 1970–1971); National Hellenic Research Foundation (Vice-President, 1958–1968; President, 1974–1979);
Thesis	Über die Aldehydverbindungen der Aminosäuren (1926)
Doctoral advisor	Max Bergmann
Notable students	Panayotis Katsoyannis; Iphigenia Photaki

Leonidas Zervas (Greek: Λεωνίδας Ζέρβας, pronounced [leoˈniðas ˈzervas]; 21 May 1902 – 10 July 1980) was a Greek organic chemist who made seminal contributions in peptide chemical synthesis. Together with his mentor Max Bergmann they laid the foundations for the field in 1932 with their major discovery, the Bergmann-Zervas carboxybenzoxy oligopeptide synthesis which remained unsurpassed in utility for the next two decades. The carboxybenzyl protecting group he discovered is often abbreviated Z in his honour.

Throughout his life Zervas also served in many important posts, including President of the Academy of Athens or briefly Minister of Industry of Greece. He received numerous awards and honours during his life and posthumously, such as Foreign Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences or the first Max Bergmann golden medal.

Leonidas Zervas
Λεωνίδας Ζέρβας
Born	(1902-05-21)21 May 1902 Megalopolis, Greece
Died	10 July 1980(1980-07-10) (aged 78) Athens, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Alma mater	University of Athens University of Berlin
Known for	Carboxybenzyl protecting group, Peptide synthesis
Spouse	Hildegard Lange
Awards	Member of the Academy of Athens (1956) Honorary Membership of the American Society of Biological Chemists (1969) Order of Scientific Merit (1st class) of the SR of Romania (1976) Foreign Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1976) Max Bergmann Golden Medal (1981)
Scientific career
Fields	Organic chemistry
Institutions	Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Leather Research (Researcher, 1926–1929; Vice-Director, 1929–1934) Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (Lecturer, 1934–1937) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Professor of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1937–1939) University of Athens (Professor of Organic Chemistry, 1939–1968) National Cancer Institute (Visiting scientist, 1956–1958) Greek Atomic Energy Commission (President, 1964–1965 & 1974–1975) Academy of Athens (President, 1970–1971) National Hellenic Research Foundation (Vice-President, 1958–1968; President, 1974–1979)
Thesis	Über die Aldehydverbindungen der Aminosäuren (1926)
Doctoral advisor	Max Bergmann
Notable students	Panayotis Katsoyannis Iphigenia Photaki