Magnus

In some of his work, Pliny the Elder (24—79 Ad) wrote of the heating of wine with flames. In the tenth century, the Persian philosopher Avicenna (980—1037 ad) described a distillation stUl. Magister Salemus wrote about "aqua ardens" around 1150 AD. The German alchemist and philosopher, Albertus Magnus (1200—1280 ad), studied wine distillation, made improvements, and wrote a manuscript on the production of aqua ardens. 

Brooks, C. R. M. and Noble, C., The Magnus Challenge-North Sea s Deepest and Most Northern Platform, 64th Annual GPA Convention, Houston, Texas, Mareh 1985. 

Bicyclic Core of the Esperamiein/Caliehemicin Class of Antitumor Agents Schreiber, Danishefsky, Magnus,... 

The sluggishness of the reaction of TIPSOTf with tertiary alcohols can be exploited to advantage, as was the case in Magnus synthesis of strychnine. The equilibrium favors the tertiary hemiketal, but silylation favors the primary alcohol. 

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