George Rieveschl, 91; chemistry professor was inventor of Benadryl

George Rieveschl, 91, a chemistry professor and researcher at the University of Cincinnati who invented the antihistamine Benadryl, died of pneumonia Thursday at the Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, a university spokesman said

Benadryl is commonly used to treat allergy symptoms such as hay fever, rashes and hives.

Rieveschl was a chemical engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati when he found that his two-part compound -- originally tested to improve muscle-relaxing medications -- blocked histamine. Histamine is a chemical released in the body that causes the swelling, watery eyes and runny noses common in allergic reactions.

Parke, Davis and Co., now part of Pfizer Inc., started marketing Benadryl in May 1946. It is now sold over the counter under the Benadryl brand name and its generic name, diphenhydramine hydrochloride.

Born in Ohio in 1916, Rieveschl studied to be a commercial artist but couldn’t find a job during the Depression. So he returned to school and earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati.

He left the university in 1943 to work for Parke Davis and other pharmaceutical firms before returning in 1970. He retired in 1982 to Covington, Ky.