Josef Hanuš was born in Jilemnice, where he also attended primary school. When his family moved to Peřimov, he studied in Hradec Králové and eventually enrolled at the University of Technology in Prague, where he became intensively involved in analytical chemistry. He studied, worked in the laboratory and became an assistant to professor Karel Preis. He received a scholarship to study in Wroclaw and later in Berlin, where he was taught by the eminent chemist Robert Henriques. He began to specialise in the study of fats, resins and rubber. The topic of fats and food chemistry eventually became his main scientific interest and he was a leading expert in the study of natural and synthetic fats used in the food industry. In addition, he also worked in analytical chemistry and studied reagents and chemical preparation. As a professor of chemistry, he devoted himself to the development of Czechoslovak universities and research institutions. He was dean and later rector of the Czech Technical University and worked at the University of Chemistry and Technology, where he founded the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, the Institute of Toxicology and the Institute of Food Technology. He published both scientific and popular articles; and was the editor and an important figure in the development of the journal Chemické listy (Chemical Sheets). Given his many foreign experiences and his long involvement in the education of future chemists, he was also appointed chairman of the naming committee for chemical nomenclature, which under his leadership created the Czech chemical nomenclature. He was a member of many learned societies, from the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts to the Czech Chemical Society and the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. In his honour, the Hanuš Medal for Merit in Chemistry is awarded annually.
