Alexander Schmidt; Former Head of Food and Drug Administration

Alexander Schmidt, 61, a former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a longtime administrator of the University of Illinois College of Medicine and the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago. He was appointed FDA commissioner under then-President Richard M. Nixon in 1973 and served until late 1976. Under Schmidt, the FDA in 1976 moved to phase out the use of aerosol sprays containing fluorocarbons that damage the Earth’s ozone layer. He was also credited with persuading birth control pill manufacturers to include detailed information in packaging about possible side effects. He also ordered a wide-ranging investigation accusing some private research laboratories of falsifying safety test data on new drugs and food additives. In 1976, shortly after Schmidt resigned, he was accused by a government panel of failing to fully investigate management practices within the agency that were in effect before he took over. In Oak Park, Ill., on Monday of coronary artery disease.