Page "Max Perutz" Paragraph 1

Max Ferdinand Perutz was born in Vienna on 19 May 1914.

Both his parents, Hugo Perutz and Dely Goldschmidt, came from families of textile manufacturers who had made their fortune in the 19th century by the introduction of mechanical spinning and weaving into the Austrian monarchy.

He was sent to school at the Theresianum, a grammar school derived from an officers academy of the days of the empress Maria Theresa, and his parents suggested that he should study law in preparation for entering the family business.

However, a good schoolmaster awakened his interest in chemistry, and he had no difficulty in persuading his parents to let him study the subject of his choice.