Carl Djerassi

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Carl Djerassi (born October 29, 1923 in Vienna, Austria), is a chemist and playwright best known for his contribution to the development of the oral contraceptive pill (OCP). He invented synthetic progesterone (norethindrone and norethynodrel) which, unlike natural progesterone, remained effective when taken orally and was far stronger than the natural version. His preparation was first administered as an oral contraceptive by Gregory Pincus, John Rock, and Min-Cheuh Chang. Djerassi remarked that he did not have birth control in mind when he began working with progesterone - "not in our wildest dreams... did we imagine (it)", though he is now referred to by some as the father of the pill. He is also the author of the novel Cantor's Dilemma, in which he explores the ethics of modern scientific research through his protagonist, Dr. Cantor.

The social impact of the pill was anticipated by Dr. Carl Djerassi. He perceived the pill as a huge impact on the social processes of women and men, which to a significant extent is influenced through the sociobiology of sexual reproduction. He anticipated a far more social impact on men than on women, in what he called as the feminization of men, implying the "Social-feminization" of laws and social values as a whole.

Born in Vienna to a Jewish family, Djerassi fled to Bulgaria in 1939, in order to escape the Nazi regime. In 1941 he moved to the United States. He studied at Kenyon College (B.A., 1942) and the University of Wisconsin (Ph.D., 1945). Since 1959, Djerassi has been a professor of chemistry at Stanford University. In 1978, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.