Scientist Considered Father of Birth Control Pill Dies

Carl Djerassi, the chemist widely considered the father of the birth control pill, has died.

Stanford University spokesman Dan Stober said Djerrasi died Friday of complications of cancer at his San Francisco home. He was 91.

Djerassi was a professor emeritus at Stanford, but 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 and women's lives.

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

Later in life, Djerassi wrote poems, short stories and plays. He told the San Francisco Chronicle last year he was tired of talking about the pill.