European Journal of

The pioneers of pediatric medicine

Pediatrics

9 Springer-Verlag1990

Eur J Pediatr (1990) 149 :517

Paul Gy6rgy (1893-1976) Paul Gy6rgy was born in Grosswardein, in the then Hungarian (now Rumanian) region of Transylvania. It was there that he completed his school education before going on to study in Berlin, Munich, Geneva and Budapest. He received his doctorate at the University of Budapest in 1915. During the First World War, he performed military service in Serbia and Italy. At the end of the war, he returned to Budapest, where he worked as a resident physician. Thereafter, he received further practical training for short periods in Berlin and Brussels. In 1920, he moved to the Children's Hospital at the University of Heidelberg, whose director at that time was Ernst Moro (1874-1951). Gy6rgy stayed in Heidelberg for 13 years; he was soon promoted to senior consultant and qualified as a lecturer in the spring of 1923. His outstanding monograph on the pathogenesis and treatment of infantile tetany was to be followed by a multiplicity of most valuable biochemical articles, in particular on rickets, which subsequently led to Gy6rgy's research on vitamins (together with Richard Kuhn) in Heidelberg. The year 1933 proved to be a quite fateful one for Gy6rgy, and he was forced to emigrate from Germany. After a short stay in Cambridge, where he worked as a visiting researcher with Hopkins, Gy6rgy moved to the United States. First in Cleveland and from 1944 onwards in Philadelphia (at the University of Pennsylvania) he was involved in research and later also went into teaching. Gy6rgy was always able to inspire and motivate his colleagues. His research led to the discovery of vitamin B6, riboflavin and biotin. He also discovered the Pennsylvanian variety of the bifidobacterium and found that its growth is promoted by human milk; moreover, together with Richard Kuhn he discovered its specific growth factors. He built up a nutrition laboratory in Philadelphia that originated several of the feeding practices of infants.

In spite of his great achievements in special areas of research, Paul Gy6rgy can be considered always to have been an "all-round" paediatrician. He received many important awards for his work in both paediatrics and nutrition, including the Howland Award and an honorary doctorate from the University of Heidelberg. He was a most forceful, colourful and amiable personality.

H.-R. Wiedemann, Kiel