The
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in
Chemistry

Chemistry (Swedish: Nobelpriset i kemi) is awarded
annually by the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the
various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes
established by the will of
Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for
outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature, peace,
and physiology or medicine. This award is administered by the Nobel
Foundation and awarded by
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on
proposal of the
Nobel Committee
,_Frescati,_Norra_Djurgården,_Stockholm.jpg/440px-Main_building_of_the_Royal_Swedish_Academy_of_Sciences_(Kungliga_Vetenskapsakademien),_Frescati,_Norra_Djurgården,_Stockholm.jpg)
Nobel Committee for
Chemistry

Chemistry which consists of five
members elected by Academy. The award is presented in
Stockholm
.jpg/700px-Stockholm-Storkyrkan_(St.Georg).jpg)
Stockholm at an
annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
The first
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in
Chemistry

Chemistry was awarded in 1901 to Jacobus
Henricus van 't Hoff, of the Netherlands, "for his discovery of the
laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions." From
1901 to 2016, the award has been bestowed on a total of 174
individuals.[2]
Contents
1 Background
2 Award ceremony
3 Nomination and selection
4 Prizes
4.1
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize medals
4.2
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize diplomas
4.3 Award money
5 Laureates
6 Scope of award
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Background[edit]
Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel stipulated in his last will and testament that his money
be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the
"greatest benefit on mankind" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology
or medicine, and literature.[3][4] Though Nobel wrote several wills
during his lifetime, the last was written a little over a year before
he died, and signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in
Paris

Paris on 27
November 1895.[5][6] Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets,
31 million Swedish kronor (US$198 million, Euro€176 million in
2016), to establish and endow the five Nobel Prizes.[7] Due to the
level of skepticism surrounding the will, it was not until April 26,
1897 that it was approved by the Storting (Norwegian
Parliament).[8][9] The executors of his will were
Ragnar Sohlman
.jpg/440px-Ragnar_Sohlman_(1870-1948).jpg)
Ragnar Sohlman and
Rudolf Lilljequist, who formed the
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation to take care of
Nobel's fortune and organise the prizes.
The members of the Norwegian
Nobel Committee
,_Frescati,_Norra_Djurgården,_Stockholm.jpg/440px-Main_building_of_the_Royal_Swedish_Academy_of_Sciences_(Kungliga_Vetenskapsakademien),_Frescati,_Norra_Djurgården,_Stockholm.jpg)
Nobel Committee that were to award the
Peace

Peace Prize were appointed shortly after the will was approved. The
prize-awarding organisations followed: the
Karolinska Institutet

Karolinska Institutet on
June 7, the
Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy on June 9, and the Royal Swedish Academy
of Sciences on June 11.[10][11] The
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation then reached an
agreement on guidelines for how the
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize should be awarded. In
1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created statutes were promulgated
by King Oscar II.[9][12][13] According to Nobel's will, The Royal
Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy of Sciences were to award the Prize in Chemistry.[13]
Award ceremony[edit]
Main article: Nobel Prize
The committee and institution serving as the selection board for the
prize typically announce the names of the laureates in October. The
prize is then awarded at formal ceremonies held annually on December
10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. "The highlight of the
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in
Stockholm
.jpg/700px-Stockholm-Storkyrkan_(St.Georg).jpg)
Stockholm is when each Nobel Laureate
steps forward to receive the prize from the hands of His Majesty the
King of Sweden. The
Nobel Laureate

Nobel Laureate receives three things: a diploma, a
medal and a document confirming the prize amount" ("What the Nobel
Laureates Receive"). Later the Nobel Banquet is held in
Stockholm
.jpg/700px-Stockholm-Storkyrkan_(St.Georg).jpg)
Stockholm City
Hall.
A maximum of three laureates and two different works may be selected.
The award can be given to a maximum of three recipients per year. It
consists of a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash grant.
Nomination and selection[edit]
Main article: Nobel Prize
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (1852–1911) was the first person to
receive the
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for his discovery of the laws of
chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions.
The Nobel Laureates in chemistry are selected by a committee that
consists of five members elected by the Royal
Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy of
Sciences. In its first stage, several thousand people are asked to
nominate candidates. These names are scrutinized and discussed by
experts until only the laureates remain. This slow and thorough
process, is arguably what gives the prize its importance.
Forms, which amount to a personal and exclusive invitation, are sent
to about three thousand selected individuals to invite them to submit
nominations. The names of the nominees are never publicly announced,
and neither are they told that they have been considered for the
Prize. Nomination records are sealed for fifty years. In practice,
some nominees do become known. It is also common for publicists to
make such a claim – founded or not.
The nominations are screened by committee, and a list is produced of
approximately two hundred preliminary candidates. This list is
forwarded to selected experts in the field. They remove all but
approximately fifteen names. The committee submits a report with
recommendations to the appropriate institution.
While posthumous nominations are not permitted, awards can occur if
the individual died in the months between the nomination and the
decision of the prize committee.
The award in chemistry requires the significance of achievements being
recognized is "tested by time." In practice it means that the lag
between the discovery and the award is typically on the order of 20
years and can be much longer. As a downside of this approach, not all
scientists live long enough for their work to be recognized. Some
important scientific discoveries are never considered for a Prize, as
the discoverers may have died by the time the impact of their work is
realized. For example, the contributions of
Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin in
discovering the structure of DNA: her x-ray crystallography citing the
shape of
DNA
.jpg)
DNA as a helix, were not realized until after her death, and
the recipients of the prize were Watson, Crick, and Wilkins.
Prizes[edit]
A
Chemistry

Chemistry
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize laureate earns a gold medal, a diploma bearing
a citation, and a sum of money.[14]
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize medals[edit]
The
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize medals, minted by Myntverket[15] in Sweden and the
Mint of Norway since 1902, are registered trademarks of the Nobel
Foundation. Each medal feature an image of
Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel in left
profile on the obverse (front side of the medal). The Nobel Prize
medals for Physics, Chemistry,
Physiology

Physiology or Medicine, and Literature
have identical obverses, showing the image of
Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel and the
years of his birth and death (1833–1896). Nobel's portrait also
appears on the obverse of the
Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize medal and the Medal
for the Prize in Economics, but with a slightly different
design.[16][17] The image on the reverse of a medal varies according
to the institution awarding the prize. The reverse sides of the Nobel
Prize medals for
Chemistry

Chemistry and
Physics

Physics share the same design.[18]
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize diplomas[edit]
Nobel laureates receive a diploma directly from the hands of the King
of Sweden. Each diploma is uniquely designed by the prize-awarding
institutions for the laureate that receives it. The diploma contains a
picture and text which states the name of the laureate and normally a
citation of why they received the prize.[19]
Award money[edit]
The laureate is given a sum of money when they receive the Nobel
Prize, in the form of a document confirming the amount awarded; in
2009 the monetary award was 10 million SEK (US$1.4 million).[20] Due
to budget cuts, in 2012, the amount for each Nobel prize was 8 million
Swedish Krona, or US$1.1 million.[21] The amount of prize money may
differ depending on how much money the
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation can award that
year. If there are two laureates in a particular category, the award
grant is divided equally between the recipients. If there are three,
the awarding committee has the option of dividing the grant equally,
or awarding one-half to one recipient and one-quarter to each of the
others.[22][23][24][25]
Laureates[edit]
Main article:
List of Nobel laureates

List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry
Scope of award[edit]
In recent years, the
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in
Chemistry

Chemistry has drawn criticism from
chemists who feel that the prize is more frequently awarded to
non-chemists than to chemists.[26] In the 30 years leading up to 2012,
the
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in
Chemistry

Chemistry was awarded ten times for work classified
as biochemistry or molecular biology, and once to a materials
scientist. In the ten years leading up to 2012, only four prizes were
for work that is strictly in chemistry.[26] Commenting on the scope of
the award,
The Economist
.png)
The Economist explained that the Royal
Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy of
Sciences is bound by Nobel's bequest, which specifies awards only in
physics, chemistry, literature, medicine, and peace. Biology was in
its infancy in Nobel's day, suggesting why no award was established.
The Economist
.png)
The Economist argued there is no
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize for mathematics either,
another major discipline, and added that Nobel's stipulation of no
more than three winners is not readily applicable to modern physics,
where progress is typically made through extensive collaboration
rather than by individual scientists.[27]
See also[edit]
Nobel laureates by country
Wolf Prize in Chemistry
Priestley Medal
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
List of Nobel laureates
References[edit]
General
"All Nobel Laureates in Chemistry". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved
2008-10-06.
"
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize winners by category (chemistry)". Encyclopædia
Britannica. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
Specific
^ "
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize amount is raised by SEK 1 million".
Nobelprize.org.
^ "Facts on the
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in Chemistry". nobelprize.org. Retrieved 8
March 2017.
^ "History – Historic Figures:
Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel (1833–1896)". BBC.
Retrieved 2010-01-15.
^ "Guide to Nobel Prize". Britannica. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
^ Ragnar Sohlman: 1983, Page 7
^ von Euler, U.S. (6 June 1981). "The
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation and its Role
for Modern Day Science". Die Naturwissenschaften. Springer-Verlag.
Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January
2010.
^ "The Will of Alfred Nobel", nobelprize.org. Retrieved 6 November
2007.
^ "The
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation – History". Nobelprize.org. Archived from
the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
^ a b Agneta Wallin Levinovitz: 2001, Page 13
^ "
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize History —". Infoplease. 1999-10-13. Retrieved
2010-01-15.
^ "
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation (Scandinavian organisation)". Britannica.
Retrieved 2013-06-10.
^ AFP, "Alfred Nobel's last will and testament" Archived October 9,
2009, at the Wayback Machine., The Local(5 October 2009): accessed 20
January 2010.
^ a b "Nobel Prize" (2007), in Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 15
January 2009, from
Encyclopædia Britannica

Encyclopædia Britannica Online:
After Nobel's death, the
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation was set up to carry out the
provisions of his will and to administer his funds. In his will, he
had stipulated that four different institutions—three Swedish and
one Norwegian—should award the prizes. From Stockholm, the Royal
Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy of Sciences confers the prizes for physics, chemistry,
and economics, the Karolinska Institute confers the prize for
physiology or medicine, and the
Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy confers the prize for
literature. The Norwegian
Nobel Committee
,_Frescati,_Norra_Djurgården,_Stockholm.jpg/440px-Main_building_of_the_Royal_Swedish_Academy_of_Sciences_(Kungliga_Vetenskapsakademien),_Frescati,_Norra_Djurgården,_Stockholm.jpg)
Nobel Committee based in
Oslo

Oslo confers the
prize for peace. The
Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation is the legal owner and
functional administrator of the funds and serves as the joint
administrative body of the prize-awarding institutions, but it is not
concerned with the prize deliberations or decisions, which rest
exclusively with the four institutions.
^ Tom Rivers (2009-12-10). "2009 Nobel Laureates Receive Their Honors
Europe English". .voanews.com. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
^ "Medalj – ett traditionellt hantverk" (in Swedish). Myntverket.
Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
^ "The
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize for Peace" Archived 2009-09-16 at the Wayback
Machine., "Linus Pauling: Awards, Honors, and Medals", Linus Pauling
and The Nature of the Chemical Bond: A Documentary History, the Valley
Library, Oregon State University. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
^ "The Nobel Medals". Ceptualinstitute.com. Archived from the original
on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
^ "
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Front and back images of the medal.
1954", "Source: Photo by Eric Arnold. Ava Helen and Linus Pauling
Papers. Honors and Awards, 1954h2.1", "All Documents and Media:
Pictures and Illustrations",
Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling and The Nature of the
Chemical Bond: A Documentary History, the Valley Library, Oregon State
University. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
^ "The Nobel Diplomas". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
^ "The
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize Amounts". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved
2014-08-24.
^ "Nobel prize amounts to be cut 20% in 2012". CNN. 2012-06-11.
Archived from the original on 2012-07-09.
^ Sample, Ian (2009-10-05). "Nobel prize for medicine shared by
scientists for work on ageing and cancer Science guardian.co.uk".
London: Guardian. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
^ Ian Sample, Science correspondent (2008-10-07). "Three share Nobel
prize for physics Science guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian.
Retrieved 2010-02-10.
^ David Landes. "Americans claim Nobel economics prize – The Local".
Thelocal.se. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
^ "The 2009
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in
Physics

Physics – Press Release". Nobelprize.org.
2009-10-06. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
^ a b "What, Another
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in
Chemistry

Chemistry to a Nonchemist?".
Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 51: 1734–1735. 9 Feb 2012.
doi:10.1002/anie.201108514. Retrieved 13 Oct 2015.
^ "
The Economist
.png)
The Economist explains: Why is the Nobel prize in chemistry given
for things that are not chemistry?". 7 Oct 2015. Retrieved 13 Oct
2015.
External links[edit]
"Green Fluorescent Protein – 2008 Nobel
Chemistry

Chemistry Award – A great
description of the work done by the 2008 laureates.
"
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Front and back images of the medal. 1954".
"Source: Photo by Eric Arnold. Ava Helen and
Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling Papers.
Honors and Awards, 1954h2.1." "All Documents and Media: Pictures and
Illustrations",
Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling and The Nature of the Chemical Bond: A
Documentary History, the Valley Library, Oregon State University.
Accessed December 7, 2007.
Graphics: National
Chemistry

Chemistry
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize shares 1901–2009 by
citizenship at the time of the award and by country of birth. From J.
Schmidhuber (2010), Evolution of National
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize Shares in the
20th Century at arXiv:1009.2634v1
"The
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in Chemistry" – Official site of the Nobel
Foundation.
"The
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize Medal for
Physics

Physics and Chemistry" – Official webpage
of the Nobel Foundation.
"What the Nobel Laureates Receive" – Featured link in "The Nobel
Prize Award Ceremonies".
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Laureates of the
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1901–1925
1901 Jacobus van 't Hoff
1902 Emil Fischer
1903 Svante Arrhenius
1904 William Ramsay
1905 Adolf von Baeyer
1906 Henri Moissan
1907 Eduard Buchner
1908 Ernest Rutherford
1909 Wilhelm Ostwald
1910 Otto Wallach
1911 Marie Curie
1912
Victor Grignard

Victor Grignard / Paul Sabatier
1913 Alfred Werner
1914 Theodore Richards
1915 Richard Willstätter
1916
1917
1918 Fritz Haber
1919
1920 Walther Nernst
1921 Frederick Soddy
1922 Francis Aston
1923 Fritz Pregl
1924
1925 Richard Zsigmondy
1926–1950
1926 Theodor Svedberg
1927 Heinrich Wieland
1928 Adolf Windaus
1929
Arthur Harden

Arthur Harden / Hans von Euler-Chelpin
1930 Hans Fischer
1931
Carl Bosch

Carl Bosch / Friedrich Bergius
1932 Irving Langmuir
1933
1934 Harold Urey
1935
Frédéric Joliot-Curie

Frédéric Joliot-Curie / Irène Joliot-Curie
1936 Peter Debye
1937
Norman Haworth

Norman Haworth / Paul Karrer
1938 Richard Kuhn
1939
Adolf Butenandt

Adolf Butenandt / Leopold Ružička
1940
1941
1942
1943 George de Hevesy
1944 Otto Hahn
1945 Artturi Virtanen
1946
James B. Sumner

James B. Sumner / John Northrop / Wendell Meredith Stanley
1947 Robert Robinson
1948 Arne Tiselius
1949 William Giauque
1950
Otto Diels

Otto Diels / Kurt Alder
1951–1975
1951
Edwin McMillan

Edwin McMillan / Glenn T. Seaborg
1952
Archer Martin

Archer Martin / Richard Synge
1953 Hermann Staudinger
1954 Linus Pauling
1955 Vincent du Vigneaud
1956 Cyril Hinshelwood / Nikolay Semyonov
1957 Alexander Todd
1958 Frederick Sanger
1959 Jaroslav Heyrovský
1960 Willard Libby
1961 Melvin Calvin
1962
Max Perutz

Max Perutz / John Kendrew
1963
Karl Ziegler

Karl Ziegler / Giulio Natta
1964 Dorothy Hodgkin
1965 Robert Woodward
1966 Robert S. Mulliken
1967
Manfred Eigen

Manfred Eigen / Ronald Norrish / George Porter
1968 Lars Onsager
1969
Derek Barton / Odd Hassel
1970 Luis Federico Leloir
1971 Gerhard Herzberg
1972
Christian B. Anfinsen

Christian B. Anfinsen /
Stanford Moore / William Stein
1973
Ernst Otto Fischer

Ernst Otto Fischer / Geoffrey Wilkinson
1974 Paul Flory
1975
John Cornforth

John Cornforth / Vladimir Prelog
1976–2000
1976 William Lipscomb
1977 Ilya Prigogine
1978 Peter D. Mitchell
1979
Herbert C. Brown

Herbert C. Brown / Georg Wittig
1980
Paul Berg

Paul Berg /
Walter Gilbert

Walter Gilbert / Frederick Sanger
1981
Kenichi Fukui

Kenichi Fukui / Roald Hoffmann
1982 Aaron Klug
1983 Henry Taube
1984 Robert Merrifield
1985
Herbert A. Hauptman

Herbert A. Hauptman / Jerome Karle
1986
Dudley R. Herschbach

Dudley R. Herschbach /
Yuan T. Lee

Yuan T. Lee / John Polanyi
1987
Donald J. Cram
.jpg/440px-Nitrobenzene_bound_within_hemicarcerand_from_Chemical_Communications_(1997).jpg)
Donald J. Cram /
Jean-Marie Lehn

Jean-Marie Lehn / Charles J. Pedersen
1988
Johann Deisenhofer

Johann Deisenhofer /
Robert Huber

Robert Huber / Hartmut Michel
1989
Sidney Altman / Thomas Cech
1990 Elias Corey
1991 Richard R. Ernst
1992 Rudolph A. Marcus
1993
Kary Mullis

Kary Mullis / Michael Smith
1994 George Olah
1995
Paul J. Crutzen

Paul J. Crutzen /
Mario J. Molina

Mario J. Molina / Frank Rowland
1996
Robert Curl

Robert Curl / Harold Kroto / Richard Smalley
1997
Paul D. Boyer

Paul D. Boyer /
John E. Walker / Jens Christian Skou
1998
Walter Kohn

Walter Kohn / John Pople
1999 Ahmed Zewail
2000
Alan J. Heeger /
Alan MacDiarmid / Hideki Shirakawa
2001–present
2001 William Knowles / Ryoji Noyori / K. Barry Sharpless
2002 John B. Fenn /
Koichi Tanaka

Koichi Tanaka / Kurt Wüthrich
2003
Peter Agre

Peter Agre / Roderick MacKinnon
2004
Aaron Ciechanover

Aaron Ciechanover /
Avram Hershko
_-_Nobel_Laureate_Avram_Hershko.jpg/440px-Flickr_-_Government_Press_Office_(GPO)_-_Nobel_Laureate_Avram_Hershko.jpg)
Avram Hershko / Irwin Rose
2005
Robert H. Grubbs

Robert H. Grubbs /
Richard R. Schrock

Richard R. Schrock / Yves Chauvin
2006 Roger D. Kornberg
2007 Gerhard Ertl
2008
Osamu Shimomura

Osamu Shimomura /
Martin Chalfie

Martin Chalfie / Roger Y. Tsien
2009
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan /
Thomas A. Steitz

Thomas A. Steitz / Ada E. Yonath
2010
Richard F. Heck

Richard F. Heck / Akira Suzuki / Ei-ichi Negishi
2011 Dan Shechtman
2012
Robert Lefkowitz

Robert Lefkowitz / Brian Kobilka
2013
Martin Karplus

Martin Karplus /
Michael Levitt
.jpg/400px-DIMG_7539_(11253383215).jpg)
Michael Levitt / Arieh Warshel
2014
Eric Betzig

Eric Betzig /
Stefan Hell

Stefan Hell / William E. Moerner
2015
Tomas Lindahl

Tomas Lindahl /
Paul L. Modrich

Paul L. Modrich / Aziz Sancar
2016
Jean-Pierre Sauvage

Jean-Pierre Sauvage /
Fraser Stoddart
.jpg/440px-Nobel_Laureates_0953_(31117136180).jpg)
Fraser Stoddart / Ben Feringa
2017
Jacques Dubochet
.jpg/440px-JacquesDubochet_2_C_Felix_Imhof_UNIL_CC-BY-SA_(cropped).jpg)
Jacques Dubochet /
Joachim Frank

Joachim Frank / Richard Henderson
v
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Nobel Prizes
Lists of Nobel laureates
Prizes
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Economics1
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Related topics
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Alfred Nobel
1 Nobel Memorial Prize (not one of the origi