Born in Prague, Felix Haurowitz received his M.D. degree in 1922, and the Doctor of Science degree in 1923, both from the German University in Prague. Two years later he became an assistant professor and in 1930 was appointed an associate professor. Leaving the German University in 1939, he became Head of the Department of Biological and Medical Chemistry at the Medical School of the University of Istanbul in Turkey. Professor Haurowitz joined the faculty of Indiana University in 1948 when he became Professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Chemistry. At the age of 70, Professor Haurowitz retired from active teaching but continued as Distinguished Professor Emeritus, doing research and directing the work of a research group. Dr. Haurowitz died in 1987 at the age of 91.
The research of Professor Haurowitz has been chiefly in the field of immunology and the chemistry of hemoglobin. From the moment of the publication of his first scientific contribution in 1920, Professor Haurowitz's ideas have had a continued and profound influence on the development of contemporary thinking in the biological sciences. Always a superb experimentalist, active and happiest in the laboratory until the present day, his greatest contribution has been in the utilization of experimental facts for the formulation of highly original seminal theories and concepts. Some of these, in the area of blood proteins and in particular in the field of antibodies-his life's central theme - have spawned literally thousands of investigations in hundreds of laboratories throughout the world.
Professor Haurowitz was a member of the American Society of Biological Chemists, American Association of Immunologists, American Chemical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Microbiology, American Society for Cell Biology, Biophysical Society, and the Gesellschaft fuer physiologische Chemie (Germany). He was an emeritus member of the Biochemical Society (London), the New York Academy of Sciences, the Societe de Chimie Biolo-gique (Paris), the Faraday Society (London), and a fellow of the International Society of Hematology.
He received many honors for his eminence in the field of biological sciences. Displaced twice from continent to continent, he has been a luminary of American science since 1948. In 1960 he received the Paul Ehrlich Prize and the gold medal of the Paul Ehrlich Foundation in Frankfurt, Germany. He was appointed Distinguished Professor at Indiana University in 1958, and served as Chairman of the Division of Biological Chemistry of the American Chemical Society for 1962-63. Professor Haurowitz received the Medal of the First International Congress of Immunology in Washington, D.C., in 1971. He was the recipient of a rare honorary degree from the University of Istanbul in early 1973. Honorary degrees from the University of Istanbul are bestowed only once every several years. Dr. Haurowitz was cited for his services to the University and for his contributions to science.
