Nobel Prize winners by category (chemistry)

year name country* achievement

1901 Hoff, Jacobus Henricus van 't The Netherlands laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure

1902 Fischer, Emil Germany work on sugar and purine syntheses

1903 Arrhenius, Svante (Arrhenius, Svante August) Sweden theory of electrolytic dissociation

1904 Ramsay, Sir William U.K. discovery of inert gas elements and their places in the periodic system

1905 Baeyer, Adolf von Germany work on organic dyes, hydroaromatic compounds

1906 Moissan, Henri France isolation of fluorine; introduction of Moissan furnace

1907 Buchner, Eduard Germany discovery of noncellular fermentation

1908 Rutherford, Ernest (Rutherford, Ernest, Baron Rutherford of Nelson, of Cambridge) U.K. investigations into the disintegration of elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances

1909 Ostwald, Wilhelm Germany pioneer work on catalysis, chemical equilibrium, and reaction velocities

1910 Wallach, Otto Germany pioneer work in alicyclic combinations

1911 Curie, Marie France discovery of radium and polonium; isolation of radium

1912 Grignard, Victor France discovery of the Grignard reagents

Sabatier, Paul France method of hydrogenating organic compounds

1913 Werner, Alfred Switzerland work on the linkage of atoms in molecules

1914 Richards, Theodore William U.S. accurate determination of the atomic weights of numerous elements

1915 Willstätter, Richard Germany pioneer researches in plant pigments, especially chlorophyll

1918 Haber, Fritz Germany synthesis of ammonia

1920 Nernst, Walther Hermann Germany work in thermochemistry

1921 Soddy, Frederick U.K. chemistry of radioactive substances; occurrence and nature of isotopes

1922 Aston, Francis William U.K. work with mass spectrograph; whole-number rule

1923 Pregl, Fritz Austria method of microanalysis of organic substances

1925 Zsigmondy, Richard Austria elucidation of the heterogeneous nature of colloidal solutions

1926 Svedberg, Theodor H.E. Sweden work on disperse systems

1927 Wieland, Heinrich Otto Germany researches into the constitution of bile acids

1928 Windaus, Adolf Germany constitution of sterols and their connection with vitamins

1929 Euler-Chelpin, Hans von Sweden investigations in the fermentation of sugars and the enzyme action involved

Harden, Sir Arthur U.K. investigations in the fermentation of sugars and the enzyme action involved

1930 Fischer, Hans Germany hemin, chlorophyll research; synthesis of hemin

1931 Bergius, Friedrich Germany invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods

Bosch, Carl Germany invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods

1932 Langmuir, Irving U.S. discoveries and investigations in surface chemistry

1934 Urey, Harold C. U.S. discovery of heavy hydrogen

1935 Joliot-Curie, Frédéric and Irène France synthesis of new radioactive elements

1936 Debye, Peter The Netherlands work on dipole moments and diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases

1937 Haworth, Sir Norman U.K. research on carbohydrates and vitamin C

Karrer, Paul Switzerland research on carotenoids, flavins, and vitamins

1938 Kuhn, Richard (declined) Germany carotenoid and vitamin research

1939 Butenandt, Adolf (declined) Germany work on sexual hormones

Ruzicka, Leopold (Ružička, Leopold) Switzerland work on polymethylenes and higher terpenes

1943 Hevesy, Georg Charles von Hungary use of isotopes as tracers in chemical research

1944 Hahn, Otto Germany discovery of the fission of heavy nuclei

1945 Virtanen, Artturi Ilmari Finland invention of a fodder-preservation method

1946 Northrop, John Howard U.S. preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in pure form

Stanley, Wendell Meredith U.S. preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in pure form

Sumner, James Batcheller U.S. discovery of enzyme crystallization

1947 Robinson, Sir Robert U.K. investigation of alkaloids and other plant products

1948 Tiselius, Arne Sweden researches in electrophoresis and adsorption analysis; serum proteins

1949 Giauque, William Francis U.S. behaviour of substances at extremely low temperatures

1950 Alder, Kurt West Germany discovery and development of diene synthesis

Diels, Otto Paul Hermann West Germany discovery and development of diene synthesis

1951 McMillan, Edwin Mattison U.S. discovery of and research on transuranium elements

Seaborg, Glenn T. U.S. discovery of and research on transuranium elements

1952 Martin, A.J.P. U.K. development of partition chromatography

Synge, R.L.M. U.K. development of partition chromatography

1953 Staudinger, Hermann West Germany work on macromolecules

1954 Pauling, Linus U.S. study of the nature of the chemical bond

1955 du Vigneaud, Vincent U.S. first synthesis of a polypeptide hormone

1956 Hinshelwood, Sir Cyril Norman U.K. work on the kinetics of chemical reactions

Semyonov, Nikolay Nikolayevich U.S.S.R. work on the kinetics of chemical reactions

1957 Todd (of Trumpington), Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron (Todd, Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron) U.K. work on nucleotides and nucleotide coenzymes

1958 Sanger, Frederick U.K. determination of the structure of the insulin molecule

1959 Heyrovský, Jaroslav Czech. discovery and development of polarography

1960 Libby, Willard Frank U.S. development of radiocarbon dating

1961 Calvin, Melvin U.S. study of chemical steps that take place during photosynthesis

1962 Kendrew, Sir John Cowdery U.K. determination of the structure of hemoproteins

Perutz, Max Ferdinand U.K. determination of the structure of hemoproteins

1963 Natta, Giulio Italy structure and synthesis of polymers in the field of plastics

Ziegler, Karl West Germany structure and synthesis of polymers in the field of plastics

1964 Hodgkin, Dorothy Mary Crowfoot (Hodgkin, Dorothy Crowfoot) U.K. determining the structure of biochemical compounds essential in combating pernicious anemia

1965 Woodward, Robert Burns U.S. synthesis of sterols, chlorophyll, and other substances

1966 Mulliken, Robert Sanderson U.S. work concerning chemical bonds and the electronic structure of molecules

1967 Eigen, Manfred West Germany studies of extremely fast chemical reactions

Norrish, Ronald George Wreyford U.K. studies of extremely fast chemical reactions

Porter, Sir George (Porter, Sir George, Baron Porter of Luddenham) U.K. studies of extremely fast chemical reactions

1968 Onsager, Lars U.S. work on the theory of thermodynamics of irreversible processes

1969 Barton, Sir Derek H.R. U.K. work in determining actual three-dimensional shapes of molecules

Hassel, Odd Norway work in determining actual three-dimensional shapes of molecules

1970 Leloir, Luis Federico Argentina discovery of sugar nucleotides and their role in the biosynthesis of carbohydrates

1971 Herzberg, Gerhard Canada research in the structure of molecules

1972 Anfinsen, Christian B. U.S. fundamental contributions to enzyme chemistry

Moore, Stanford U.S. fundamental contributions to enzyme chemistry

Stein, William H. U.S. fundamental contributions to enzyme chemistry

1973 Fischer, Ernst Otto West Germany organometallic chemistry

Wilkinson, Sir Geoffrey U.K. organometallic chemistry

1974 Flory, Paul J. U.S. studies of long-chain molecules

1975 Cornforth, Sir John Warcup (Cornforth, Sir John) U.K. work in stereochemistry

Prelog, Vladimir Switzerland work in stereochemistry

1976 Lipscomb, William Nunn, Jr. U.S. structure of boranes

1977 Prigogine, Ilya Belgium widening the scope of thermodynamics

1978 Mitchell, Peter Dennis U.K. formulation of a theory of energy-transfer processes in biological systems

1979 Brown, Herbert Charles U.S. introduction of compounds of boron and phosphorus in the synthesis of organic substances

Wittig, Georg West Germany introduction of compounds of boron and phosphorus in the synthesis of organic substances

1980 Berg, Paul U.S. first preparation of a hybrid DNA

Gilbert, Walter U.S. development of chemical and biological analyses of DNA structure

Sanger, Frederick U.K. development of chemical and biological analyses of DNA structure

1981 Fukui Kenichi Japan orbital symmetry interpretation of chemical reactions

Hoffmann, Roald U.S. orbital symmetry interpretation of chemical reactions

1982 Klug, Aaron U.K. determination of the structure of biological substances

1983 Taube, Henry U.S. study of electron-transfer reactions

1984 Merrifield, Bruce U.S. development of a method of polypeptide synthesis

1985 Hauptman, Herbert A. U.S. development of a way to map the chemical structures of small molecules

Karle, Jerome U.S. development of a way to map the chemical structures of small molecules

1986 Herschbach, Dudley R. U.S. development of methods for analyzing basic chemical reactions

Lee, Yuan T. U.S. development of methods for analyzing basic chemical reactions

Polanyi, John C. Canada development of methods for analyzing basic chemical reactions

1987 Cram, Donald J. U.S. development of molecules that can link with other molecules

Lehn, Jean-Marie France development of molecules that can link with other molecules

Pedersen, Charles J. U.S. development of molecules that can link with other molecules

1988 Deisenhofer, Johann West Germany discovery of the structure of proteins needed in photosynthesis

Huber, Robert West Germany discovery of the structure of proteins needed in photosynthesis

Michel, Hartmut West Germany discovery of the structure of proteins needed in photosynthesis

1989 Altman, Sidney U.S. discovery of certain basic properties of RNA

Cech, Thomas Robert U.S. discovery of certain basic properties of RNA

1990 Corey, Elias James U.S. development of retrosynthetic analysis for synthesis of complex molecules

1991 Ernst, Richard R. Switzerland improvements in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

1992 Marcus, Rudolph A. U.S. explanation of how electrons transfer between molecules

1993 Mullis, Kary B. U.S. invention of techniques for gene study and manipulation

Smith, Michael Canada invention of techniques for gene study and manipulation

1994 Olah, George A. U.S. development of techniques to study hydrocarbon molecules

1995 Crutzen, Paul The Netherlands explanation of processes that deplete Earth's ozone layer

Molina, Mario U.S. explanation of processes that deplete Earth's ozone layer

Rowland, F. Sherwood U.S. explanation of processes that deplete Earth's ozone layer

1996 Curl, Robert F., Jr. U.S. discovery of new carbon compounds called fullerenes

Kroto, Sir Harold W. U.K. discovery of new carbon compounds called fullerenes

Smalley, Richard E. U.S. discovery of new carbon compounds called fullerenes

1997 Boyer, Paul D. U.S. explanation of the enzymatic conversion of adenosine triphosphate

Skou, Jens C. Denmark discovery of sodium-potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase

Walker, John E. U.K. explanation of the enzymatic conversion of adenosine triphosphate

1998 Kohn, Walter U.S. development of the density-functional theory

Pople, John A. (Pople, Sir John A.) U.K. development of computational methods in quantum chemistry

1999 Zewail, Ahmed H. Egypt/U.S. study of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy

2000 Heeger, Alan J. U.S. discovery of plastics that conduct electricity

MacDiarmid, Alan G. U.S. discovery of plastics that conduct electricity

Shirakawa Hideki Japan discovery of plastics that conduct electricity

2001 Knowles, William S. U.S. work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions

Noyori Ryoji (Noyori Ryōji) Japan work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions

Sharpless, K. Barry U.S. work on chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions

2002 Fenn, John B. U.S. development of techniques to identify and analyze proteins and other large molecules

Tanaka Koichi Japan development of techniques to identify and analyze proteins and other large molecules

Wüthrich, Kurt Switzerland development of techniques to identify and analyze proteins and other large molecules

2003 Agre, Peter U.S. discoveries regarding water channels and ion channels in cells

MacKinnon, Roderick U.S. discoveries regarding water channels and ion channels in cells

2004 Ciechanover, Aaron (Ciechanover, Aaron J.) Israel discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

Hershko, Avram Israel discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

Rose, Irwin U.S. discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

2005 Chauvin, Yves France development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis

Grubbs, Robert H. U.S. development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis

Schrock, Richard R. U.S. development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis

2006 Kornberg, Roger D. U.S. work concerning the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription

2007 Ertl, Gerhard Germany studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces

2008 Chalfie, Martin U.S. discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP

Shimomura, Osamu U.S. discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP

Tsien, Roger Y. U.S. discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP

*Nationality given is the citizenship of recipient at the time award was made. Prizes may be withheld or not awarded in years when no worthy recipient can be found or when the world situation (e.g., World Wars I and II) prevents the gathering of information needed to reach a decision.