Timeline
January 1st 1835
Gustav Speyer, son of Lazard Speyer, who is owner of Frankfurt’s bank “Lazard-Speyer-Ellissen“, is born. On December 17th his name is changed into Georg Speyer.
March 22nd, 1844
Trustor Franziska Speyer, née Gumbert, is born.
1869
Georg Speyer marries the 24-year-old Franziska Gumbert, eldest daughter of a banker from Berlin. The couple is very interested in social and cultural questions of the day and belongs to Frankfurt’s patrons. Many of Frankfurt’s social clubs and associations go back to their engagement and financial support, even the foundations of Frankfurt’s university and the Georg-Speyer-Haus, institute for biomedical research.
Around 1900
Mayor Franz Bourchard Ernst Adickes contrived to win Frankfurt’s propertied townspeople as patrons of social welfare, art, and science. Therefore many social services, scientific trusts, the opera, Frankfurt’s university, as well as charitable housing estates came into existence.
1901
The Speyer family essentially belonged to Frankfurt’s patrons and therefore founded the “Georg and Franziska Speyer scholarship foundation“with a budget of 1 million German Goldmark. Their foundation supported “maintenance of science as well as the higher scientific education“ and finally provided the basis for the University of Frankfurt.
1902
At the age of 67 Georg Speyer died on April 24th. In his honour his wife Franziska decided to donate an “Academy for practical medicine“ with the central building of a so-called “Georg Speyer Haus“ on the ground of the municipal hospital.
1904
It begins to show, that the realization of the academy project would be delayed. Ludwig Darmstädter, a friend of Paul Ehrlich, prompted Franziska Speyer to give up the original plans and to follow a new concept. He advises her to directly support Paul Ehrlich’s scientific work by founding an institute for biomedical research. Already since 1899 Paul Ehrlich manages the Royal Institute for experimental therapy in Frankfurt, which controlled antiserum on the market for the state. Since around 1902 Ehrlich dedicates himself to research of drugs for chemotherapeutic therapy of infectious diseases and cancer research.
1905
For Franziska Speyer’s new research institute Frankfurt’s mayor Franz Adickes provides the municipal area in the eastern part of the Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy for free. The building passed on to the city of Frankfurt, which, until today, pays for the upkeep.
September 3rd 1906
Grand opening of the Georg-Speyer-Haus and handover to its first director Paul Ehrlich. From now on, Ehrlich manages the Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy as well as the newly opened Georg-Speyer-Haus.
1908
Paul Ehrlich was awarded with the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine for his “everlasting earnings for medical and biological research, namely the evaluation of serums“.
1909
After long running experiments Paul Ehrlich and his colleagues Alfred Bertheim and Sahachiro Hata discover Salvarsan, a drug for syphilis therapy.
Franziska Speyer died of cancer.
1910
After long running experiments Paul Ehrlich and his colleagues Alfred Bertheim and Sahachiro Hata discover Salvarsan, a drug for syphilis therapy. Franziska Speyer died of cancer.
1911
The budget of the “Georg-Speyer-Haus“ foundation increases considerably because of the Salvarsan licence.
1914
Founding of the Wolfgang-Goethe University Frankfurt.
August 20th 1915
Paul Ehrlich dies in Bad Homburg.
1917
Wilhelm Kolle becomes successor of Paul Ehrlich at both institutes until he dies in 1935. Salvarsan is improved to the better-tolerated Neo-Salvarsan.
1921
Ludwig Darmstädter initiates the separation between the “Georg and Franziska Speyer scholarship foundation“ and the independent and charitable “Georg-Speyer-Haus“ foundation to guarantee the returns of Salvarsan licences for the Georg-Speyer-Haus.
1922
Completion of a connective building between the Georg-Speyer-Haus and the nearby Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy and thereby integration of the Ferdinand-Blum-Institut within the complex of buildings.
1926
On the occasion of Ludwig Darmstädter’s 80th birthday the directorate of the Georg-Speyer-Haus decides to establish the “Ludwig-Darmstädter-Preis“.
1929
Paul Ehrlich’s widow Hedwig founded a Paul-Ehrlich-Foundation, which annually awards the Paul-Ehrlich-Preis. Every year, the ceremony takes place on March 14th, Paul Ehrlich’s birthday.
1935
Richard Otto succeeds Wilhelm Kolle as director of the Georg-Speyer-Haus and of the Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy and manages both institutes until 1948. By order of NS regime all writings of Paul Ehrlich are removed from the institute’s library. At the end of the year all Jewish employees are released by the order of the Reich- and Prussian Ministry of the Interior.
1938/39
Richard Otto succeeds Wilhelm Kolle as director of the Georg-Speyer-Haus and of the Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy and manages both institutes until 1948. By order of NS regime all writings of Paul Ehrlich are removed from the institute’s library. At the end of the year all Jewish employees are released by the order of the Reich- and Prussian Ministry of the Interior.
After 1945
Renaming of the “Research Institute for Chemotherapy“ again as “Chemotherapeutical Research Institute Georg-Speyer-Haus“. The foundation’s old structure of the Twenties is re-established by new articles.
1947
Günter K. Schwerin, grandson of Paul Ehrlich, achieved, that the former Royal and meanwhile National Institute for Experimental Therapy is allowed to bear the name of its first director: Paul-Ehrlich-Institut National Institute for Experimental Therapy.
1949
The budget of the Georg-Speyer-Haus foundation, which had been around 10 million German Mark before the monetary reform, declined to 130,000 German Mark. The Salvarsan licences had been phased out and therefore there are hardly any earnings. Richard Prigge (1949-1962) succeeds Richard Otto as director of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and of the Georg-Speyer-Haus.
1950
The Georg-Speyer-Haus is allowed to join the Königsberger convention, which defines a common funding of bigger research institutes by the federal states. Therefore, the financial situation of the Georg-Speyer-Haus is stabilised.
1952
Union of the “Paul-Ehrlich“ and the “Ludwig-Darmstädter“ prize. But not until 1960 prize money can be finally paid out after Theodor Heuss’ engagement. The ceremony follows the criteria of the “Paul-Ehrlich-Preis“ and takes place on March 14th (Paul Ehrlich’s birthday). Internationally seen, it is one of the most famous prizes, which are awarded in the field of medicine in the Federal Republic of Germany.
1962 - 1966
Günther Heymann manages the Georg-Speyer-Haus as well as the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut on a temporary basis.
1966 - 1969
Niels Kaj Jerne manages both institutes. He develops theories on the function of the immune system and therefor gets the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1984.
1969 - 1973
For the second time Günther Heymann becomes the institute’s director on a temporary basis.
1974 - 1987
Hans Dieter Brede is director of both institutes. During his term, research on Aids and the construction of a new building in Langen for the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut started.
1987
Beginning of relocating the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut to Langen, dissolution of the personal union of both institutes and separation between Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and Georg-Speyer-Haus. The management of the Georg-Speyer-Haus decides to go on using the building in Paul-Ehrlich-Straße.
1987 - 1993
As director Helga Rübsamen-Waigmann arranges new jobs at the institute and intensifies research on HIV. For the first time a German research institute is able to isolate HIV strains out of patients and to characterize them.
1994 - 1998
Hans Dieter Brede took the directorate of the Georg-Speyer-Haus on a temporary basis until he died. During his term the whole complex of building is restored from the purse of the Federal Ministry of Health and of the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art.
1998 - today
Bernd Groner becomes director of the Georg-Speyer-Haus. Arrangement of new working groups, emphasizing of research on tumour biology, and intensification of collaboration with the university hospital. Clinical testing of new cancer drugs and application of gene therapy.
