Valerius Cordus (18 February 1515 – 25 September 1544) was a German physician and botanist who authored one of the greatest pharmacopoeias and one of the most celebrated herbals in history. He is also widely credited with having pioneered a method for synthesizing ether (which he called oleum dulci vitrioli, or "sweet oil of vitriol"). Cordus wrote prolifically, and also identified and described several new plant species. The plant genus Cordia is named for him. Image File history File links Valerius-Cordus. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... // Events June - Invasion of Persia by Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire. ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... Events April 11 - Battle of Ceresole - French forces under the Comte dEnghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin. ... Physician examining a child The word physician should not be confused with physicist, which means a scientist in the area of physics. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Pharmacopoeia (literally, the art of the drug compounder), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society. ... An herbal is a book, often illustrated, that describes the appearance, medical properties, and other characteristics of plants used in herbal medicine. ... Ether is the general name for a class of chemical compounds which contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two (substituted) alkyl groups. ... Species Cordia abyssinica Cordia africana Cordia alliodora Cordia boisseri Cordia buddeloides Cordia collococca Cordia crenata Cordia croatii Cordia cymosa Cordia dentata Cordia dichotoma(?) Cordia eleagnoides Cordia gerascanthus Cordia globosa Cordia guanacastensis Cordia linnaei Cordia lutea Cordia martinicensis Cordia millenii Cordia nesophila Cordia nodosa Cordia obliqua(?) Cordia panamensis Cordia parvifolia Cordia...

The son of an ardent Lutheran convert, Valerius Cordus was born either in Hesse or Erfurt. He began his higher education in 1527, at the young age of 12, studying botany and pharmacy under the tutelage of his father, Professor Euricius Cordus, M.D. In the same year he also enrolled at the University of Marburg; he completed his bachelor's degree in 1531. From then until 1539, he furthered his studies by working at an apothecary shop owned by his uncle (either Johannes or Joachim) in Leipzig, and enrolling in the University of Leipzig. The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the converts previous beliefs; in some cultures (e. ... Hesse is also the name of the German writer Hermann Hesse, as well as the German mathematician Otto Hesse. ... Map of Germany showing Erfurt Mariendom and the Severikirche Erfurt [ˈɛrfÊŠrt] is a city in central Germany. ... Events January 5 - Felix Manz, co-founder of the Swiss Anabaptists, was drowned in the Limmat River in Zürich by the Zürich Reformed state church. ... The Medicinæ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or D.M.) is a an degree held by medical doctors. ... The University of Marburg, officially called Philipps-Universität Marburg after its founder, the Landgrave Philipp I of Hesse (usually called the Magnanimous), was founded in 1527 and is the worlds first and oldest Protestant university. ... A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. ... Events January 26 - Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake-- thousands die October 1 - Battle of Kappel - The forces of Zürich are defeated by the Catholic cantons. ... Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... Apothecary (prononuced eh-poh-thek-ary, from the Latin apothecarius, a keeper of an apotheca, Gr. ... Leipzig â–¶(?) [] (Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the federal state (Bundesland) of Saxony in Germany. ... The University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig), located in Leipzig in the Free State and former Kingdom of Saxony, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. ...

In 1539 he relocated to the University of Wittenberg, where he lectured and studied medicine. His lectures proved popular, and Cordus' lecture notes were published posthumously in 1549 as Annotations on Dioscorides. Among the research outlined in the lectures were the results of his own systematic observations of many of the same plants described by Pedanius Dioscorides in the 1st century CE. Direct observation of live specimens was one of Cordus' strengths. The Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg is located in the German cities of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt and Wittenberg. ... Events July - Ketts Rebellion Francis Xavier arrives in Japan. ... Pedanius Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (c. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100. ...

In 1540 Cordus discovered and described a revolutionary technique for synthesizing ether, which involved adding sulfuric acid to ethyl alcohol. It has been suggested that he may have learned the method from Portuguese Explorers who brought the knowledge from the Middle East. Events January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. ... Sulfuric acid (British English: sulphuric acid), H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid. ... Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, one of the alcohols that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

In 1542 he began travelling back and forth between Germany and Italy for his research and studies, and also presented his great pharmacopoeia, Dispensatorium, to the Nuremberg city council. The council presented him with 100 gold guilders following the presentation, and published the work posthumously as a book in 1546. Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ... Hl. ... Guilder is the English name for the Dutch Gulden. ... // Events Spanish conquest of Yucatan Peace between England and France Foundation of Trinity College, Cambridge by Henry VIII of England Katharina von Bora flees to Magdeburg Science Architecture Michelangelo Buonarroti is made chief architect of St. ...

The University of Wittenberg awarded him a medical degree in 1544, the same year that his great herbal in five volumes, Historia Plantarum, was published—a work unique at the time for its balanced analysis of interest not only to botanists, but to pharmacists and herbalists as well. The Medicinæ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or D.M.) is a an degree held by medical doctors. ...

Later that same year, at the age of 29, Cordus died of malaria while in Rome. Throughout his short life, Valerius travelled extensively, visited many universities, and was widely acclaimed by his colleagues and other associates. He was an impressive linguist, and also spoke eloquently on philosophy. As a botanist, he observed with a bredth and depth that surpassed most of his contemporaries; as a scientist, his methodology was systematic and thorough. City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,823,807 almost 4,000,000 1... // History Because of the above definition, the oldest universities in the world were all European, as the awarding of academic degrees was not a custom of older institutions of learning in Asia and Africa. ...

After the death of Valerius Cordus, Conrad Gessner published a considerable amount of Cordus' remaining unpublished work, including De Extractione (which featured Cordus' ether synthesis method) and Historia Stirpium et Sylva in 1561. Conrad Gessner (Konrad Gessner, Conrad von Gesner, Conradus Gesnerus) (26 March 1516-13 December 1565) was a Swiss naturalist. ... // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ...

Sources

• Entry for Cordus, Valerius at the Galileo Project
• Entry for Valerius Cordus de Oberhessen at Só Biografias (Portuguese language)