(1852–1911) was the first person to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for his discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and
osmotic pressure in solutions.]]
The
Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the
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 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 on proposal of the
Nobel Committee for Chemistry which consists of five members elected by Academy. The award is presented in
Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the
anniversary of Nobel's death. The first Nobel Prize in 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." The 2010 Nobel Prize was awarded to
Richard F. Heck,
Ei-ichi Negishi and
Akira Suzuki for their work in palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions in organic synthesis.
Background
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. 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 on 27 November 1895. Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets, 31 million
Swedish kronor (
US$186 million in 2008), to establish and endow the five Nobel Prizes. Due to the level of scepticism surrounding the will, it was not until April 26, 1897 that it was approved by the
Storting (Norwegian Parliament). The executors of his will were
Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist, who formed the Nobel Foundation to take care of Nobel's fortune and organise the prizes.
The members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that were to award the Peace Prize were appointed shortly after the will was approved. The prize-awarding organisations followed: the Karolinska Institutet on June 7, the Swedish Academy on June 9, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on June 11. The Nobel Foundation then reached an agreement on guidelines for how the Nobel Prize should be awarded. In 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created statutes were promulgated by King Oscar II. According to Nobel's will, The Royal Swedish Academy of sciences were to award the Prize in Chemistry. The amount of money awarded depends on the income of the Nobel Foundation that year. If a prize is awarded to more than one laureate, the money is either split evenly among them or, for three laureates, it may be divided into a half and two quarters.
Nobel Prize Medals
The Nobel Prize medals, minted by
Myntverket in Sweden and the Mint of Norway since 1902, are registered trademarks of the Nobel Foundation. Each medal feature an image of Alfred Nobel in left profile on the obverse (front side of the medal). The Nobel Prize medals for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature have identical obverses, showing the image of 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 medal and the Medal for the Prize in Economics, but with a slightly different design. 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 and Physics share the same design.
Nobel Prize Diplomas
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. No Nobel Peace Prize has ever had a citation on its diplomas.
Laureates
See also
List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry by age
Nobel laureates by country
Evolution of Nobel Prizes by country
Wolf Prize in Chemistry
Priestley Medal
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
References
;General
;Specific
External links
"Green Fluorescent Protein - 2008 Nobel Chemistry Award - A great description of the work done by the 2008 laureates.
"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 and The Nature of the Chemical Bond: A Documentary History, the Valley Library, Oregon State University. Accessed December 7, 2007.
Graphics: National Chemistry 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 Shares in the 20th Century at arXiv:1009.2634v1
"The Nobel Prize in Chemistry" – Official site of the Nobel Foundation.
"The Nobel Prize Medal for Physics and Chemistry" – Official webpage of the Nobel Foundation.
"What the Nobel Laureates Receive" – Featured link in "The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies".
Category:Chemistry awards
*Chemistry, Nobel Prize in
Category:Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
