Chemistry
Progesterone was independently discovered by four research groups.
Willard Myron Allen co-discovered progesterone with his anatomy professor George Washington Corner at the University of Rochester Medical School in 1933. Allen first determined its melting point, molecular weight, and partial molecular structure. He also gave it the name Progesterone derived from Progestational Steroidal ketone.
Like other steroids, progesterone consists of four interconnected cyclic hydrocarbons. Progesterone contains ketone and oxygenated functional groups, as well as two methyl branches. Like all steroid hormones, it is hydrophobic.
Read more about this topic: Progesterone
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—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)