work on the total synthesis of a range of natural products, the partial synthesis of steroid hormones and analogues, and especially for his syntheses of the hitherto unknown class of conjugated unsaturated macrocyclic compounds which has led to some interesting theoretical conclusions. On these topics he has so far published 167 papers. However, funding problems, the difficulty of recruiting foreign postdoctoral students, and his continued focus on now-unfashionable areas of research, all contributed to this not being a satisfactory chapter in his career. Franz Sondheimer suffered from prolonged depression. He died on 11 February 1981 in his office at Stanford’s Stauffer Laboratory, where he had been on sabbatical. He had apparently committed suicide by taking cyanide. Sondheimer's notable students include K. C. Nicolaou, Raphael Mechoulam, Timothy Walsgrove, and Henry N. C. Wong. Awards and honours In 1960, Sondheimer was awarded the Israel Prize, in exact sciences. In 1961, he received the Corday-Morgan medal and Prize. In 1967, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. See also List of Israel Prize recipients References Further reading Who's Who External links Biography on UCL website 1926 births 1981 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Harvard Fellows British chemists Organic chemists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Jewish scientists Academics of University College London Academics of Imperial College London Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge People educated at Highgate School Israel Prize in exact science recipients Israel Prize in exact science recipients who were chemists Academic staff of Weizmann Institute of Science British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Israel Scientists from Stuttgart 1981 suicides Suicides by cyanide poisoning