while responding to the situation: Sertürner hypothesized that, because lower doses of the drug were needed, it would be less addictive. However, he became addicted to the drug, warning that "I consider it my duty to attract attention to the terrible effects of this new substance I called morphium in order that calamity may be averted." Heinrich Emanuel Merck began the sale of morphine a few years after Sertürner's paper was published. Jean-Francois Derosne and Armand Séguin have both been claimed to have discovered morphine before Sertürner. Recognition In 1817 Sertürner was awarded an honorary doctorate from Jena University. In 1831, Sertürner received the Montyon Prize and the title ‘Benefactor of Humanity’. References Further reading 1783 births 1841 deaths People from Paderborn 19th-century German chemists German pharmacists Morphine