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Nobel Prize
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The table provides a chronological list of recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Nobel Prize winners by category (chemistry)
year name country* achievement
*Nationality given is the citizenship of the recipient at the time the 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.
1901 Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Netherlands laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure
1902 Emil Fischer Germany work on sugar and purine syntheses
1903 Svante Arrhenius Sweden theory of electrolytic dissociation
1904 Sir William Ramsay U.K. discovery of inert gas elements and their places in the periodic system
1905 Adolf von Baeyer Germany work on organic dyes, hydroaromatic compounds
1906 Henri Moissan France isolation of fluorine; introduction of Moissan furnace
1907 Eduard Buchner Germany discovery of noncellular fermentation
1908 Ernest Rutherford U.K. investigations into the disintegration of elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances
1909 Wilhelm Ostwald Germany pioneer work on catalysis, chemical equilibrium, and reaction velocities
1910 Otto Wallach Germany pioneer work in alicyclic combinations
1911 Marie Curie France discovery of radium and polonium; isolation of radium
1912 Victor Grignard France discovery of the Grignard reagents
Paul Sabatier France method of hydrogenating organic compounds
1913 Alfred Werner Switzerland work on the linkage of atoms in molecules
1914 Theodore William Richards U.S. accurate determination of the atomic weights of numerous elements
1915 Richard Willstätter Germany pioneer researches in plant pigments, especially chlorophyll
1918 Fritz Haber Germany synthesis of ammonia
1920 Walther Hermann Nernst Germany work in thermochemistry
1921 Frederick Soddy U.K. chemistry of radioactive substances; occurrence and nature of isotopes
1922 Francis William Aston U.K. work with mass spectrograph; whole-number rule
1923 Fritz Pregl Austria method of microanalysis of organic substances
1925 Richard Zsigmondy Austria elucidation of the heterogeneous nature of colloidal solutions
1926 Theodor H.E. Svedberg Sweden work on disperse systems
1927 Heinrich Otto Wieland Germany researches into the constitution of bile acids
1928 Adolf Windaus Germany constitution of sterols and their connection with vitamins
1929 Hans von Euler-Chelpin Sweden investigations in the fermentation of sugars and the enzyme action involved
Sir Arthur Harden U.K. investigations in the fermentation of sugars and the enzyme action involved
1930 Hans Fischer Germany hemin, chlorophyll research; synthesis of hemin
1931 Friedrich Bergius Germany invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods
Carl Bosch Germany invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods
1932 Irving Langmuir U.S. discoveries and investigations in surface chemistry
1934 Harold C. Urey U.S. discovery of heavy hydrogen
1935 Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie France synthesis of new radioactive elements
1936 Peter Debye Netherlands work on dipole moments and diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases
1937 Sir Norman Haworth U.K. research on carbohydrates and vitamin C
Paul Karrer Switzerland research on carotenoids, flavins, and vitamins
1938 Richard Kuhn (declined) Germany carotenoid and vitamin research
1939 Adolf Butenandt (declined) Germany work on sexual hormones
Leopold Ruzicka Switzerland work on polymethylenes and higher terpenes
1943 Georg Charles von Hevesy Hungary use of isotopes as tracers in chemical research
1944 Otto Hahn Germany discovery of the fission of heavy nuclei
1945 Artturi Ilmari Virtanen Finland invention of a fodder-preservation method
1946 John Howard Northrop U.S. preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in pure form
Wendell Meredith Stanley U.S. preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in pure form
James Batcheller Sumner U.S. discovery of enzyme crystallization
1947 Sir Robert Robinson U.K. investigation of alkaloids and other plant products
1948 Arne Tiselius Sweden researches in electrophoresis and adsorption analysis; serum proteins
1949 William Francis Giauque U.S. behaviour of substances at extremely low temperatures
1950 Kurt Alder West Germany discovery and development of diene synthesis
Otto Paul Hermann Diels West Germany discovery and development of diene synthesis
1951 Edwin Mattison McMillan U.S. discovery of and research on transuranium elements
Glenn T. Seaborg U.S. discovery of and research on transuranium elements
1952 A.J.P. Martin U.K. development of partition chromatography
R.L.M. Synge U.K. development of partition chromatography
1953 Hermann Staudinger West Germany work on macromolecules
1954 Linus Pauling U.S. study of the nature of the chemical bond
1955 Vincent du Vigneaud U.S. first synthesis of a polypeptide hormone
1956 Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood U.K. work on the kinetics of chemical reactions
Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov U.S.S.R. work on the kinetics of chemical reactions
1957 Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron Todd U.K. work on nucleotides and nucleotide coenzymes
1958 Frederick Sanger U.K. determination of the structure of the insulin molecule
1959 Jaroslav Heyrovský Czech. discovery and development of polarography
1960 Willard Frank Libby U.S. development of radiocarbon dating
1961 Melvin Calvin U.S. study of chemical steps that take place during photosynthesis
1962 Sir John Cowdery Kendrew U.K. determination of the structure of hemoproteins
Max Ferdinand Perutz U.K. determination of the structure of hemoproteins
1963 Giulio Natta Italy structure and synthesis of polymers in the field of plastics
Karl Ziegler West Germany structure and synthesis of polymers in the field of plastics
1964 Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin U.K. determining the structure of biochemical compounds essential in combating pernicious anemia
1965 Robert Burns Woodward U.S. synthesis of sterols, chlorophyll, and other substances
1966 Robert Sanderson Mulliken U.S. work concerning chemical bonds and the electronic structure of molecules
1967 Manfred Eigen West Germany studies of extremely fast chemical reactions
Ronald George Wreyford Norrish U.K. studies of extremely fast chemical reactions
Sir George Porter U.K. studies of extremely fast chemical reactions
1968 Lars Onsager U.S. work on the theory of thermodynamics of irreversible processes
1969 Sir Derek H.R. Barton U.K. work in determining actual three-dimensional shapes of molecules
Odd Hassel Norway work in determining actual three-dimensional shapes of molecules
1970 Luis Federico Leloir Argentina discovery of sugar nucleotides and their role in the biosynthesis of carbohydrates
1971 Gerhard Herzberg Canada research in the structure of molecules
1972 Christian B. Anfinsen U.S. fundamental contributions to enzyme chemistry
Stanford Moore U.S. fundamental contributions to enzyme chemistry
William H. Stein U.S. fundamental contributions to enzyme chemistry
1973 Ernst Otto Fischer West Germany organometallic chemistry
Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson U.K. organometallic chemistry
1974 Paul J. Flory U.S. studies of long-chain molecules
1975 Sir John Warcup Cornforth U.K. work in stereochemistry
Vladimir Prelog Switzerland work in stereochemistry
1976 William Nunn Lipscomb, Jr. U.S. structure of boranes
1977 Ilya Prigogine Belgium widening the scope of thermodynamics
1978 Peter Dennis Mitchell U.K. formulation of a theory of energy-transfer processes in biological systems
1979 Herbert Charles Brown U.S. introduction of compounds of boron and phosphorus in the synthesis of organic substances
Georg Wittig West Germany introduction of compounds of boron and phosphorus in the synthesis of organic substances
1980 Paul Berg U.S. first preparation of a hybrid DNA
Walter Gilbert U.S. development of chemical and biological analyses of DNA structure
Frederick Sanger U.K. development of chemical and biological analyses of DNA structure
1981 Fukui Kenichi Japan orbital symmetry interpretation of chemical reactions
Roald Hoffmann U.S. orbital symmetry interpretation of chemical reactions
1982 Aaron Klug U.K. determination of the structure of biological substances
1983 Henry Taube U.S. study of electron-transfer reactions
1984 Bruce Merrifield U.S. development of a method of polypeptide synthesis
1985 Herbert A. Hauptman U.S. development of a way to map the chemical structures of small molecules
Jerome Karle U.S. development of a way to map the chemical structures of small molecules
1986 Dudley R. Herschbach U.S. development of methods for analyzing basic chemical reactions
Yuan T. Lee U.S. development of methods for analyzing basic chemical reactions
John C. Polanyi Canada development of methods for analyzing basic chemical reactions
1987 Donald J. Cram U.S. development of molecules that can link with other molecules
Jean-Marie Lehn France development of molecules that can link with other molecules
Charles J. Pedersen U.S. development of molecules that can link with other molecules
1988 Johann Deisenhofer West Germany discovery of the structure of proteins needed in photosynthesis
Robert Huber West Germany discovery of the structure of proteins needed in photosynthesis
Hartmut Michel West Germany discovery of the structure of proteins needed in photosynthesis
1989 Sidney Altman U.S. discovery of certain basic properties of RNA
Thomas Robert Cech U.S. discovery of certain basic properties of RNA
1990 Elias James Corey U.S. development of retrosynthetic analysis for synthesis of complex molecules
1991 Richard R. Ernst Switzerland improvements in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
1992 Rudolph A. Marcus U.S. explanation of how electrons transfer between molecules
1993 Kary B. Mullis U.S. invention of techniques for gene study and manipulation
Michael Smith Canada invention of techniques for gene study and manipulation
1994 George A. Olah U.S. development of techniques to study hydrocarbon molecules
1995 Paul Crutzen Netherlands explanation of processes that deplete Earth's ozone layer
Mario Molina U.S. explanation of processes that deplete Earth's ozone layer
F. Sherwood Rowland U.S. explanation of processes that deplete Earth's ozone layer
1996 Robert F. Curl, Jr. U.S. discovery of new carbon compounds called fullerenes
Sir Harold W. Kroto U.K. discovery of new carbon compounds called fullerenes
Richard E. Smalley U.S. discovery of new carbon compounds called fullerenes
1997 Paul D. Boyer U.S. explanation of the enzymatic conversion of adenosine triphosphate
Jens C. Skou Denmark discovery of sodium-potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase
John E. Walker U.K. explanation of the enzymatic conversion of adenosine triphosphate
1998 Walter Kohn U.S. development of the density-functional theory
John A. Pople U.K. development of computational methods in quantum chemistry
1999 Ahmed H. Zewail Egypt/U.S. study of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy
2000 Alan J. Heeger U.S. discovery of plastics that conduct electricity
Alan G. MacDiarmid U.S. discovery of plastics that conduct electricity
Shirakawa Hideki Japan discovery of plastics that conduct electricity
2001 William S. Knowles U.S. work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions
Noyori Ryoji Japan work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions
K. Barry Sharpless U.S. work on chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions
2002 John B. Fenn 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
Kurt Wüthrich Switzerland development of techniques to identify and analyze proteins and other large molecules
2003 Peter Agre U.S. discoveries regarding water channels and ion channels in cells
Roderick MacKinnon U.S. discoveries regarding water channels and ion channels in cells
2004 Aaron Ciechanover Israel discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation
Avram Hershko Israel discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation
Irwin Rose U.S. discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation
2005 Yves Chauvin France development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis
Robert H. Grubbs U.S. development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis
Richard R. Schrock U.S. development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis
2006 Roger D. Kornberg U.S. work concerning the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription
2007 Gerhard Ertl Germany studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces
2008 Martin Chalfie U.S. discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP
Osamu Shimomura U.S. discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP
Roger Y. Tsien U.S. discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP
2009 Venkatraman Ramakrishnan U.S. studies of the structure and function of the ribosome
Thomas Steitz U.S. studies of the structure and function of the ribosome
Ada Yonath Israel studies of the structure and function of the ribosome
2010 Richard F. Heck U.S. development of techniques to synthesize complex carbon molecules
Negishi Ei-ichi Japan development of techniques to synthesize complex carbon molecules
Suzuki Akira Japan development of techniques to synthesize complex carbon molecules
2011 Daniel Shechtman Israel discovery of quasicrystals
2012 Brian K. Kobilka U.S. studies of G-protein-coupled receptors
Robert J. Lefkowitz U.S. studies of G-protein-coupled receptors
2013 Martin Karplus Austria/U.S. development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems
Michael Levitt U.K./U.S./Israel development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems
Arieh Warshel Israel/U.S. development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems
2014 Eric Betzig U.S. development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy
Stefan W. Hell Germany development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy
William E. Moerner U.S. development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy
2015 Tomas Lindahl Sweden mechanistic studies of DNA repair
Paul Modrich U.S. mechanistic studies of DNA repair
Aziz Sancar Turkey/U.S. mechanistic studies of DNA repair
2016 Jean-Pierre Sauvage France design and synthesis of molecular machines
J. Fraser Stoddart U.K. design and synthesis of molecular machines
Bernard Feringa Netherlands design and synthesis of molecular machines
2017 Jacques Dubochet Switzerland development of cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution
Joachim Frank Germany/U.S. development of cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution
Richard Henderson U.K. development of cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution
2018 Frances Arnold U.S. first directed evolution of enzymes
George P. Smith U.S. development of phage display, a method in which a bacteriophage can be used to evolve new proteins
Gregory P. Winter U.K. work using the phage display method for the directed evolution of antibodies
2019 John B. Goodenough U.S. development of lithium-ion batteries
M. Stanley Whittingham U.K./U.S. development of lithium-ion batteries
Yoshino Akira Japan development of lithium-ion batteries
2020 Emmanuelle Charpentier France development of a method for genome editing
Jennifer Doudna U.S. development of a method for genome editing
2021 Benjamin List Germany development of asymmetric organocatalysis
David W.C. MacMillan U.K./U.S. development of asymmetric organocatalysis
2022 Carolyn R. Bertozzi U.S. development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry
Morten P. Meldal Neth. development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry
K. Barry Sharpless U.S. development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry
2023 Moungi Bawendi France/U.S. discovery and synthesis of quantum dots
Louis Brus U.S. discovery and synthesis of quantum dots
Alexei Ekimov Russia/U.S. discovery and synthesis of quantum dots
2024 David Baker U.S. work involving computational protein design
Demis Hassabis U.K. work concerning protein structure prediction
John M. Jumper U.S. work concerning protein structure prediction