Bergius, << BUR gee oos, >> Friedrich (1884-1949), a German chemist, shared the 1931 Nobel Prize for chemistry. He operated a private research laboratory in Hannover. His most famous work dealt with high-pressure chemical reactions. Out of these studies came the method for the direct conversion of coal dust to oil, known as the Bergius process. This discovery is important to countries without oil reserves. Bergius was born on Oct. 11, 1884, in Goldschmieden, near Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland). He died on March 30, 1949.
