Carl Djerassi, father of birth control pill passes away

Carl Djerassi, 91, the chemist widely considered the father of the birth control pill, died on Saturday.

Djerrasi died of complications of cancer in his San Francisco home, Stanford University spokesman Dan Stober said.

Djerassi, a professor emeritus of chemistry at Stanford, was most famous for leading a research team in Mexico City that in 1951 developed norethindrone, a synthetic molecule that became a key component of the first birth control pill.

“The pill,” as it came to be known, radically transformed sexual practices.

In his book, “This Man’s Pill,” Djerassi said the invention also changed his life, making him more interested in how science affects society.

In 1969, he submitted a public policy article about the global implications of U.S. contraceptive research, according to the Stanford News Service. In 1970, he published another article about the feasibility of a birth control pill for men.