Carl Djerassi (1923–2015), Chemist, Novelist, Playwright.

Carl Djerassi was born in Vienna, Austria, but spent the first years of his infancy in Sofia, Bulgaria. His parents were both Jewish. In 1939, he moved to the U.S. with his mother to escape the rise of Nazi rule in Europe. After completing his doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin in 1945, he joined CIBA Pharmaceuticals as a research chemist, where he developed one of the first commercial antihistamines. At 26, he accepted a position as associate director of research for Syntex in Mexico City. There, he and colleagues advanced hormone synthesis methods, including that leading to oral contraceptives, earning him the nickname "Father of the Pill." Djerassi maintained a 20-year relationship with Syntex, while also accepting academic positions at Wayne State University in Detroit and Stanford University. In his later years, he focused on his second career in literatur. He wrote poetry and authored many successful plays and novels.