Born Sept. 16, 1853, in Rostock; died July 5, 1927, in Heidelberg. German biochemist. Professor at the Universities of Berlin (from 1887), Marburg (from 1895), and Heidelberg (1901-23).
Kossel’s major works were in the chemistry of proteins and nucleoproteins. He studied protamines and histones and proved that these substances should be classified as proteins. In 1896, Kossel discovered the amino acid histidine in their composition. He set forth one of the earliest theories for protein structure based on the assumption that proteins are composed of amino acids. Kossel received the Nobel Prize in 1910.