Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Alfred Nobel signed his final will and testament at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on the 27th of November 1895. This document directed that 94% of his total assets be used to create prizes for those conferring the greatest benefit on mankind. The sum totaled 31 million Swedish kronor, which equated to approximately US$198 million or €176 million in 2016 values. Skepticism surrounded the document immediately after his death, delaying its approval by the Storting until the 26th of April 1897. Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist served as executors who formed the Nobel Foundation to manage this fortune. They organized the prizes while navigating legal challenges from relatives who contested the distribution of funds. King Oscar II promulgated the newly created statutes of the Nobel Foundation in 1900. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was designated to award the Prize in Chemistry according to these instructions.
Several thousand individuals receive forms inviting them to submit nominations for the annual prize. These names are scrutinized and discussed by experts until only the laureates remain. The committee consists of five members elected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Nomination records are sealed for fifty years, though publicists sometimes claim knowledge of nominees before official announcements. A list of approximately two hundred preliminary candidates is produced during the screening phase. Experts then remove all but approximately fifteen names from that initial pool. The committee submits a report with recommendations to the appropriate institution. Posthumous nominations are not permitted, yet awards can occur if an individual dies between nomination and decision. The lag between discovery and award typically spans twenty years or more. This delay ensures achievements are tested by time before recognition occurs.
The medal for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry features the Goddess of Nature emerging from clouds holding a cornucopia. Erik Lindberg designed this image which appears on both physics and chemistry medals manufactured by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna. The Genius of Science holds the veil covering Nature's cold and austere face on the reverse side. An inscription below reads Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes, adapted from line 663 of book 6 of Virgil's Aeneid. A plate bears the name of the recipient while REG. ACAD. SCIENT. SUEC. denotes the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Each diploma contains a picture stating why the laureate received the prize. These documents are handed directly to winners by the King of Sweden at the annual ceremony. The cash award amount varies yearly based on funding available from the Nobel Foundation. In 2009 the total sum reached 10 million SEK equaling US$1.4 million. That figure dropped to 8 million Swedish Krona or US$1.1 million by 2012.
Critics argue the prize is awarded more frequently to non-chemists than to chemists in recent decades. Ten prizes were given for work classified as biochemistry or molecular biology over thirty years leading up to 2012. Only four prizes went strictly to chemistry during that same ten-year period. Biology existed in its infancy when Nobel wrote his will so no separate category was established then. Molecular chemistry dominated science Nobel Prizes between 1995 and 2017 according to Ioannidis et al. Their report showed half of all science awards clustered within just a few disciplines. Atomic physics, particle physics, cell biology, and neuroscience claimed dominance outside chemistry. Molecular chemists won only 5.3% of all science Nobel Prizes during this timeframe. The Royal Swedish Academy remains bound by Nobel's original stipulation limiting categories to five fields. Progress in modern physics often involves huge collaborations rather than individual achievements alone.
A total of 198 individuals received the award from 1901 through 2025. Eight women have won the prize including Marie Curie in 1911 and her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie in 1935. Dorothy Hodgkin won in 1964 while Ada Yonath took the honor in 2009. Frances Arnold received the award in 2018 followed by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna in 2020. Carolyn R. Bertozzi became the eighth woman laureate in 2022. Marie Curie stands as the only person to win in two different sciences with her 1903 Physics Prize. Frederick Sanger and K. Barry Sharpless both won twice for their contributions. Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi shared the 2025 prize for developing metal, organic frameworks. Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff of the Netherlands received the first award in 1901. His work focused on laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions.
Common questions
When did Alfred Nobel sign his final will and testament for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry?
Alfred Nobel signed his final will and testament on the 27th of November 1895 at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris. This document directed that 94% of his total assets be used to create prizes for those conferring the greatest benefit on mankind.
Who administers the Nobel Prize in Chemistry according to the original statutes?
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was designated to award the Prize in Chemistry according to these instructions. The committee consists of five members elected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences who scrutinize nominations until only the laureates remain.
What is the design origin of the medal for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry?
Erik Lindberg designed this image which appears on both physics and chemistry medals manufactured by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna. The medal features the Goddess of Nature emerging from clouds holding a cornucopia with an inscription adapted from line 663 of book 6 of Virgil's Aeneid.
How many women have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry between 1901 and 2025?
Eight women have won the prize including Marie Curie in 1911 and her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie in 1935. Dorothy Hodgkin won in 1964 while Ada Yonath took the honor in 2009, followed by Frances Arnold in 2018 and Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna in 2020.
When did Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff receive the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry award?
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff of the Netherlands received the first award in 1901. His work focused on laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions.