Tadeus Reichstein was born in Poland in 1897. When he was eleven years old, his family moved to Switzerland, where he studied chemistry. In 1934 he became a professor of organic chemistry. He joined the University of Basel in 1938 as head of the Institute of Pharmacology. In 1946 he was appointed head of the organic chemistry laboratories.

In 1950, Reichstein, together with Philip Hench and Edward Kendall, was awarded the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine, “for their discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects.” These hormones affect metabolism and are vital for bodily function.

Reichstein isolated and characterized some thirty steroids, the most important of which was cortisone. In the wake of his findings, the production of cortisone and its use in relieving the suffering of arthritis patients was begun. It was later used in the fight against pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma and other illnesses.