Krayer, Otto, 1899-1982

Otto Krayer (1899-1982), M.D., 1926, University of Freiburg, Germany, was a pharmacologist, professor, and researcher. Krayer was an international leader in the field of pharmacology and Head of the Department of Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, for twenty-eight years. In 1933, Krayer refused an appointment to an academic chair at the University of Dusseldorf after the removal of the Jewish incumbent by Nazi government officials in Germany. For this, Krayer was banned from German academic, library, and scientific facilities, prompting relocations to England, Lebanon, and eventually the United States of America. Krayer’s primary research focus during his tenure at Harvard Medical School was cardiac pharmacology and veratrum alkaloids.

Otto Herman Krayer was born in Kondringen, Germany, on 22 October 1899, the son of Frieda Wolfsperger and Hermann Krayer. The couple had four other children, Frieda, Lina, Emma, and Wilhelm. Growing up, Krayer helped his parents run an inn and operate the family farm. During World War I, he was drafted into the German Army in 1917, at age eighteen. Krayer saw frontline infantry combat from April to October 1918, and was wounded in battle before the 1918 armistice. During his recovery, Krayer completed his university entrance requirements and in 1919 entered the University of Freiburg to study medicine. Krayer earned his M.D. in 1926.

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