Winners of the Nobel Chemistry Prize
2006=Roger D. Kornberg for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.
2005=Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, Richard R. Schrock "for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis.
2004=Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Irwin Rose for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.
2003=Peter Agre, Roderick MacKinnon for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes, for the discovery of water channels and for structural and mechanistic studies of ion channels.
2002=John B. Fenn, Koichi Tanaka, Kurt Wüthrich for the development of methods for identification and structure analyses of biological macromolecules, for their development of soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules and for his development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determining the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution.
2001=William S. Knowles, and Ryoji Noyori, for their work on chirally catalysed hydrogenation reactions and to: K. Barry Sharpless for his work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions.
2000=Alan J. Heeger, Alan g. MacDiarmid (both U.S.), and Hideki Shirakawa (Japan), for the discovery and development of conductive polymers
1999=Ahmed H. Zewail (Egypt and U.S.), for creating the world's fastest camera, which captures atoms in motion
1998=Walter Kohn (U.S.) and John A. Pople (U.K.), for their developments in the study of the properties of molecules and the chemical processes in which they are involved
1997=Paul D. Boyer (U.S.), Jens C. Skou (Denmark), and John E. Walker (U.K.), for discoveries about a molecule that allows the human body to store and transfer energy between cells
1996=Richard E. Smalley, Robert F. Curl, Jr. (both U.S.), and Harold W. Kroto (U.K.), for discovery of a new class of carbon molecule
1995=F. Sherwood Rowland, Mario Molina (both U.S.), and Paul Crutzen (Netherlands), for their pioneering work in explaining the chemical processes that deplete the earth's ozone shield
1994=George A. Olah (U.S.), University of Southern California in Los Angeles, for research that opened new ways to break apart and rebuild compounds of carbon and hydrogen
1993=Kary B. Mullis (U.S.) and Michael Smith (Canada), for their contributions to the science of genetics
1992=Rudolph A. Marcus (U.S.), for his mathematical analysis of how the overall energy in a system of interacting molecules changes and induces an electron to jump from one molecule to another
1991=Richard R. Ernst (Switzerland), for refinements he developed in nuclear magnetic-resonance spectroscopy
1990=Elias James Corey (U.S.), for developing new ways to synthesize complex molecules ordinarily found in nature
1989=Thomas R. Cech and Sidney Altman (both U.S.), for their discovery, independently, that RNA could actively aid chemical reactions in the cells
1988=Johann Deisenhofer, Robert Huber, and Hartmut Michel (all West Germany), for unraveling the structure of proteins that play a crucial role in photosynthesis
1987=Donald J. Cram, Charles J. Pedersen (both U.S.), and Jean-Marie Lehn (France), for wide-ranging research that has included the creation of artificial molecules that can mimic vital chemical reactions of the processes of life
1986=Dudley R. Herschback, Yuan T. Lee (both U.S.), and John C. Polanyi (Canada), for their work on “reaction dynamics”
1985=Herbert A. Hauptman and Jerome Karle (both U.S.), for their outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures
1984=R. Bruce Merrifield (U.S.), for research that revolutionized the study of proteins
1983=Henry Taube (U.S.), for research on how electrons transfer between molecules in chemical reactions
1982=Aaron Klug (U.K.), for research in the detailed structures of viruses and components of life
1981=Roald Hoffmann (U.S.) and Kenichi Fukui (Japan), for applying quantum-mechanics theories to predict the course of chemical reactions
1980=Paul Berg, Walter Gilbert (both U.S.), and Frederick Sanger (U.K.), for developing methods to map the structure and function of DNA, the substance that controls the activity of the cell
1979=Herbert C. Brown (U.S.) and Georg Wittig (West Germany), for developing a group of substances that facilitate very difficult chemical reactions
1978=Peter Mitchell (U.K.), for contributions to the understanding of biological energy transfer
1977=Ilya Prigogine (Belgium), for contributions to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures
1976=William N. Lipscomb, Jr. (U.S.), for work on the structure and bonding mechanisms of boranes
1975=John W. Cornforth (Australia) and Vladimir Prelog (Switzerland), for research on structure of biological molecules such as antibiotics and cholesterol
1974=Paul J. Flory (U.S.), for developing analytic methods to study properties and molecular structure of long-chain molecules
1973=Ernst Otto Fischer (W. Germany) and Geoffrey Wilkinson (U.K.), for work that could solve problem of automobile exhaust pollution
1972=Christian Boehmer Anfinsen, Stanford Moore, and William Howard Stein (all U.S.), for pioneering studies in enzymes
1971=Gerhard Herzberg (Canada), for contributions to knowledge of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, particularly free radicals
1970=Luis F. Leloir (Argentina), for discovery of sugar nucleotides and their role in biosynthesis of carbohydrates
1969=Derek H. R. Barton (U.K.) and Odd Hassel (Norway), for study of organic molecules
1968=Lars Onsager (U.S.), for development of system of equations in thermodynamics
1967=Manfred Eigen (Germany), Ronald G. W. Norrish, and George Porter (both U.K.), for work in high-speed chemical reactions
1966=Robert Sanderson Mulliken (U.S.), for research on bond holding atoms together in molecule
1965=Robert B. Woodward (U.S.), for work in synthesizing complicated organic compounds
1964=Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (U.K.), for determining structure of compounds needed in combatting pernicious anemia
1963=Carl Ziegler (Germany) and Giulio Natta (Italy), for work in uniting simple hydrocarbons into large molecule substances
1962=Max F. Perutz and John C. Kendrew (U.K.), for mapping protein molecules with X-rays
1961=Melvin Calvin (U.S.), for establishing chemical steps during photosynthesis
1960=Willard F. Libby (U.S.), for “atomic time clock” to measure age of objects by measuring their radioactivity
1959=Jaroslav Heyrovsky (Czechoslovakia), for development of polarography, an electrochemical method of analysis
1958=Frederick Sanger (U.K.), for determining molecular structure of insulin
1957=Sir Alexander Todd (U.K.), for research with chemical compounds that are factors in heredity
1956=Sir Cyril Hinshelwood (U.K.) and Nikolai N. Semenov (U.S.S.R.), for parallel research on chemical reaction kinetics
1955=Vincent du Vigneaud (U.S.), for work on pituitary hormones
1954=Linus C. Pauling (U.S.), for study of forces holding together protein and other molecules
1953=Hermann Staudinger (Germany), for research in giant molecules
1952=Archer John Porter Martin and Richard Laurence Millington Synge (both U.K.), for development of partition chromatography
1951=Glenn T. Seaborg and Edwin H. McMillan (both U.S.), for discovery of plutonium
1950=Otto Diels and Kurt Alder (both Germany), for discovery of diene synthesis enabling scientists to study structure of organic matter
1949=William Francis Giauque (U.S.), for research in thermodynamics, especially effects of low temperature
1948=Arne Tiselius (Sweden), for biochemical discoveries and isolation of mouse paralysis virus
1947=Sir Robert Robinson (U.K.), for research in plant substances
1946=James B. Sumner (U.S.), for crystallizing enzymes; John H. Northrop and Wendell M. Stanley (both U.S.), for preparing enzymes and virus proteins in pure form
1945=Artturi Illmari Virtanen (Finland), for research in the field of conservation of fodder
1944=Otto Hahn (Germany), for work on atomic fission
1943=Georg Hevesy De Heves (Hungary), for work on use of isotopes as indicators
1942=None.
1941=None.
1940=None.
1939=Adolf Butenandt (Germany), for work on sexual hormones (declined the prize); and Leopold Ruzicka (Switzerland), for work with polymethylenes
1938=Richard Kuhn (Germany), for carotenoid study and vitamin research (declined)
1937=Walter N. Haworth (U.K.), for research on carbohydrates and vitamin C; and Paul Karrer (Switzerland), for work on carotenoids, flavins, and vitamins A and B
1936=Peter J. W. Debye (Netherlands), for investigations on dipole moments and diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases
1935=Frédéric and Ircne Joliot-Curie (both France), for synthesis of new radioactive elements
1934=Harold C. Urey (U.S.), for discovery of heavy hydrogen
1933=None.
1932=Irving Langmuir (U.S.), for work in realm of surface chemistry
1931=Karl Bosch and Friedrich Bergius (both Germany), for invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods
1930=Hans Fischer (Germany), for work on coloring matter of blood and leaves and for his synthesis of hemin
1929=Sir Arthur Harden (U.K.) and Hans K. A. S. von Euler-Chelpin (Sweden), for research of fermentation of sugars
1928=Adolf Windaus (Germany), for investigations on constitution of the sterols and their connection with vitamins
1927=Heinrich Wieland (Germany), for investigations of bile acids and kindred substances (In 1928, the 1927 prize was awarded to him.)
1926=Theodor Svedberg (Sweden), for work on disperse systems
1925=Richard Zsigmondy (Germany), for work on the heterogeneous nature of colloid solutions (In 1926, the 1925 prize was awarded to him.)
1924=None.
1923=Fritz Pregl (Austria), for method of microanalysis of organic substances discovered by him
1922=Francis W. Aston (U.K.), for discovery of isotopes in nonradioactive elements and for discovery of the whole number rule
1921=Frederick Soddy (U.K.), for investigations into origin and nature of isotopes
1920=Walther Nernst (Germany), for work in thermochemistry
1919=None.
1918=Fritz Haber (Germany), for synthetic production of ammonia
1917=None.
1916=None.
1915=Richard Willstätter (Germany), for research into coloring matter of plants, especially chlorophyll
1914=Theodore W. Richards (U.S.), for determining atomic weight of many chemical elements
1913=Alfred Werner (Switzerland), for linking up atoms within the molecule
1912=Victor Grignard (France), for reagent discovered by him; and Paul Sabatier (France), for methods of hydrogenating organic compounds
1911=Marie Curie (France), for discovery of elements radium and polonium
1910=Otto Wallach (Germany), for work in the field of alicyclic compounds
1909=Wilhelm Ostwald (Germany), for work on catalysis and investigations into chemical equilibrium and reaction rates
1908=Sir Ernest Rutherford (U.K.), for investigations into disintegration of elements
1907=Eduard Buchner (Germany), discovery of cell-less fermentation and investigations in biological chemistry
1906=Henri Moissan (France), for isolation of fluorine, and introduction of electric furnace
1905=Adolf von Baeyer (Germany), for work on organic dyes and hydroaromatic combinations
1904=Sir William Ramsay (U.K.), for discovery and determination of place of inert gaseous elements in air
1903=Svante A. Arrhenius (Sweden), for his electrolytic theory of dissociation
1902=Emil Fischer (Germany), for experiments in sugar and purin groups of substances
1901=Jacobus H. van't Hoff (Netherlands), for laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions