Raymond Nicholas Bieter papers

Raymond Nicholas Bieter was born in Heron Lake, Minnesota on October 9, 1900. Beginning in 1917 Bieter attended the College of St. Thomas, receiving his B.S. in 1921, and his M.B. and M.D. in 1924. In 1924 he also received an M.S. in Pharmacology from the University of Minnesota. He was an intern at St. Paul's Ancker Hospital in 1924 and worked briefly in general practice in Lewiston, Minnesota. Bieter returned to the University of Minnesota in 1929 and received a doctorate in pharmacology. He studied at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore from 1930 to 1931 before returning to teach pharmacology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Bieter was an Associate Professor from 1931-40, and became a full professor in 1940. He was appointed Head of the University's Pharmacology Department in 1942, succeeding Dr. Arthur Hirshfelder, and served in that post until he became Assistant Dean of the Medical School and Director of Educational Services in 1962.

Bieter served for many years as a consultant to 3M Company and Sterling-Winthrop Drug Company. He was instrumental in the discovery of Demerol and other drugs. In 1948, at the International Polio Conference, Bieter reported that the drug Teropterin had been found effective in curing polio in mice. Bieter was on the Minnesota State Board of Examiners in Basic Sciences for over twenty years, and served as its secretary for most of that time. He was a Member of the Committee on Problems of Drug Dependence of the National Research Council, 1948 to 1969. He was also chief of pharmacology staff at Hennepin County General Hospital from 1942 to 1969.

His research activities focused on: physiology and pharmacology of the kidneys, experimental chemotherapy of bacterial infections and virus infections, local anesthetics, antihistaminics, and analgesics.

In 1950, Bieter was elected to fellowship in the New York Academy of Sciences. At that time, Dr. Bieter was one of only 106 distinguished scientists so honored. In 1964, the College of St. Thomas named him Man of the Year for his work with the school's pre-med program.

Bieter retired from the University of Minnesota in 1968. After his retirement, he worked four years for the State of Minnesota evaluating nursing homes. Bieter was married to Lorraine Endres in 1925, and was the father of four children. He died at the age of 89 in St. Paul, Minnesota.