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'''Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff''' (30 August 1852 – 1 March 1911) was a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[physical chemistry|physical]] and [[organic chemistry|organic chemist]] and the first winner of the inaugural [[Nobel Prize in chemistry]]. His is most well know for research in [[chemical kinetics]], [[chemical equilibrium]], [[osmotic pressure]] and [[stereochemistry]]. Van 't Hoff work in these subjects helped found the discipline of physical chemistry as it is known today.
'''Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff''' (30 August 1852 – 1 March 1911) was a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[physical chemistry|physical]] and [[organic chemistry|organic chemist]] and the first winner of the inaugural [[Nobel Prize in chemistry]]. His is most well know for research in [[chemical kinetics]], [[chemical equilibrium]], [[osmotic pressure]] and [[stereochemistry]]. van 't Hoff work in these subjects helped found the discipline of physical chemistry as it is known today.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Van 't Hoff was born in [[Rotterdam]], Netherlands, and was the third of seven children. His father was Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, a physician, and his mother was Alida Jacoba Kolff.<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1901/hoff-bio.html Biography on Nobel prize website]</ref> From a young age he was interested in science and nature, and frequently took part in botanical excursions. In his early school years, he showed a strong interest in [[poetry]] and [[philosophy]]. He considered [[Lord Byron]] to be his idol.
van 't Hoff was born in [[Rotterdam]], Netherlands, and was the third of seven children. His father was Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, a physician, and his mother was Alida Jacoba Kolff.<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1901/hoff-bio.html Biography on Nobel prize website]</ref> From a young age he was interested in science and nature, and frequently took part in botanical excursions. In his early school years, he showed a strong interest in [[poetry]] and [[philosophy]]. He considered [[Lord Byron]] to be his idol.


Against the wishes of his father, van't Hoff chose to study [[chemistry]], first at the [[Delft University of Technology|Delft Polytechnic Institute]], then latter at the [[University of Leiden]]. He then studied in [[Bonn]], Germany with [[Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz|Friedrich Kekulé]] and in Paris with [[Charles-Adolphe Wurtz|C. A. Wurtz]]. He received his [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]] under [[Eduard Mulder]] at the [[Utrecht University|University of Utrecht]] in 1874. <ref>[http://dap.library.uu.nl/cgi-bin/dap/dap?diss_id=7506 Entry in Digital Album Promotorum] of [[Utrecht University]]</ref>
Against the wishes of his father, van 't Hoff chose to study [[chemistry]], first at the [[Delft University of Technology|Delft Polytechnic Institute]], then latter at the [[University of Leiden]]. He then studied in [[Bonn]], Germany with [[Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz|Friedrich Kekulé]] and in Paris with [[Charles-Adolphe Wurtz|C. A. Wurtz]]. He received his [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]] under [[Eduard Mulder]] at the [[Utrecht University|University of Utrecht]] in 1874. <ref>[http://dap.library.uu.nl/cgi-bin/dap/dap?diss_id=7506 Entry in Digital Album Promotorum] of [[Utrecht University]]</ref>


In 1878, van 't Hoff married Johanna Francina Mees. They had two daughters, Johanna Francina (b. 1880) and Aleida Jacoba (b. 1882), and two sons, Jacobus Hendricus (b. 1883) and Govert Jacob (b. 1889). Van 't Hoff died at the age of 58, on 1 March 1911, at [[Steglitz]] near Berlin from [[tuberculosis]].
In 1878, van 't Hoff married Johanna Francina Mees. They had two daughters, Johanna Francina (b. 1880) and Aleida Jacoba (b. 1882), and two sons, Jacobus Hendricus (b. 1883) and Govert Jacob (b. 1889). van 't Hoff died at the age of 58, on 1 March 1911, at [[Steglitz]] near Berlin from [[tuberculosis]].


==Career==
==Career==
⚫
[[Image:Jacobus Hendricus van 't Hoff.jpg|thumb|left|van 't Hoff in the 1900s.]]<!--KEEP THIS ON THE LEFT TO AVOID BLANK LINES CREATED BY OTHER IMAGES ON THE RIGHT-->
===Contributions to chemistry===
⚫
[[Image:Jacobus Hendricus van 't Hoff.jpg|thumb|left|Van 't Hoff in the 1900s.]]<!--KEEP THIS ON THE LEFT TO AVOID BLANK LINES CREATED BY OTHER IMAGES ON THE RIGHT-->
Before he received his doctorate, van 't Hoff had already published the first of his important contributions to the field of [[organic chemistry]]. In 1874 he accounted for the phenomenon of [[optical activity]] by assuming that the [[chemical bond]]s between [[carbon]] [[atom]]s and their neighbors were directed towards the corners of a regular [[tetrahedron]]<ref>http://www.youtube.com/user/periodicvideos#p/u/0/b_L9DcGiXyc</ref>. This three-dimensional structure accounted for the [[isomer]]s found in nature. He shares credit for this idea with the French chemist [[Joseph Le Bel]], who independently came up with the same idea.
Before he received his doctorate, van 't Hoff had already published the first of his important contributions to the field of [[organic chemistry]]. In 1874 he accounted for the phenomenon of [[optical activity]] by assuming that the [[chemical bond]]s between [[carbon]] [[atom]]s and their neighbors were directed towards the corners of a regular [[tetrahedron]]<ref>http://www.youtube.com/user/periodicvideos#p/u/0/b_L9DcGiXyc</ref>. This three-dimensional structure accounted for the [[isomer]]s found in nature. He shares credit for this idea with the French chemist [[Joseph Le Bel]], who independently came up with the same idea.


Van 't Hoff published his work on [[stereochemistry]] in his book ''La chimie dans l'éspace'', in 1874. At the time, his theory was considered revolutionary, and was strongly pcriticized by the scientific community. One such critic was the renowned editor of the German ''Journal für praktische Chemie'', [[Adolph Kolbe]], who stated:
van 't Hoff published his work on [[stereochemistry]] in his book ''La chimie dans l'éspace'', in 1874. At the time, his theory was considered revolutionary, and was strongly criticized by the scientific community. One such critic was the renowned editor of the German ''Journal für praktische Chemie'', [[Adolph Kolbe]], who stated:
<blockquote>A Dr. H. van ’t Hoff of the Veterinary School at Utrecht has no liking, apparently, for exact chemical investigation. He has considered it more comfortable to mount Pegasus (apparently borrowed from the Veterinary School) and to proclaim in his ''‘La chimie dans l’espace’'' how the atoms appear to him to be arranged in space, when he is on the chemical Mt. Parnassus which he has reached by bold flight. </blockquote>
<blockquote>A Dr. H. van ’t Hoff of the Veterinary School at Utrecht has no liking, apparently, for exact chemical investigation. He has considered it more comfortable to mount Pegasus (apparently borrowed from the Veterinary School) and to proclaim in his ''‘La chimie dans l’espace’'' how the atoms appear to him to be arranged in space, when he is on the chemical Mt. Parnassus which he has reached by bold flight. </blockquote>


In 1884, van 't Hoff published his research on chemical kinetics, titled ''Études de Dynamique chimique'' (''"Studies in Chemical Dynamics"''), in which he described a new method for determining the [[Order (chemistry)|order of a reaction]] using [[graphics]], and applied the laws of [[thermodynamics]] to chemical equilibria. He also introduced the modern concept of [[chemical affinity]]. In 1886, he showed a similarity between the behaviour of dilute solutions and gases. In 1887, he and German chemist [[Wilhelm Ostwald]] founded an influential scientific magazine named ''Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie'' ''("Journal of Physical Chemistry")''. He worked on [[Svante Arrhenius]]'s theory of the dissociation of [[electrolytes]] and in 1889 provided physical justification for the [[Arrhenius equation]]. In 1896, he became professor at the ''Prussian Academy of Science'' in Berlin. His studies of the salt deposits at [[Stassfurt]] were an important contribution to Prussia's chemical industry.
In 1884, van 't Hoff published his research on chemical kinetics, titled ''Études de Dynamique chimique'' (''"Studies in Chemical Dynamics"''), in which he described a new method for determining the [[Order (chemistry)|order of a reaction]] using [[graphics]], and applied the laws of [[thermodynamics]] to chemical equilibria. He also introduced the modern concept of [[chemical affinity]]. In 1886, he showed a similarity between the behaviour of dilute solutions and gases. In 1887, he and German chemist [[Wilhelm Ostwald]] founded an influential scientific magazine named ''Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie'' ''("Journal of Physical Chemistry")''. He worked on [[Svante Arrhenius]]'s theory of the dissociation of [[electrolytes]] and in 1889 provided physical justification for the [[Arrhenius equation]]. In 1896, he became a professor at the ''Prussian Academy of Science'' in Berlin. His studies of the salt deposits at [[Stassfurt]] were an important contribution to Prussia's chemical industry.


⚫
van 't Hoff became a lecturer in chemistry and physics at the [[Veterinary medicine|Veterinary]] College in [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]]. He then worked as a professor of [[chemistry]], [[mineralogy]], and [[geology]] at the [[University of Amsterdam]] for almost 18 years before eventually becoming the chairman of the chemistry department. In 1896 van 't Hoff moved to Germany where he finished his career at the [[University of Berlin]] in 1911. In 1901 he received the first [[Nobel Prize in chemistry]] for his work with [[solution]]s. His work showed that very dilute solutions follow mathematical laws that closely resemble the laws describing the behavior of [[gas]]es.
===The Nobel Prize in Chemistry===
⚫
Van 't Hoff became a lecturer in chemistry and physics at the [[Veterinary medicine|Veterinary]] College in [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]]. He then worked as a professor of [[chemistry]], [[mineralogy]], and [[geology]] at the [[University of Amsterdam]] for almost 18 years before eventually becoming the chairman of the chemistry department. In 1896 van 't Hoff moved to Germany where he finished his career at the [[University of Berlin]] in 1911. In 1901 he received the first [[Nobel Prize in chemistry]] for his work with [[solution]]s. His work showed that very dilute solutions follow mathematical laws that closely resemble the laws describing the behavior of [[gas]]es.


==Honours and awards==
==Honours and awards==
[[Image:J.H. van 't Hoff.gif|thumb|150px| Van 't Hoff in the 1900s at the height of his career.]]
[[Image:J.H. van 't Hoff.gif|thumb|150px| van 't Hoff in the 1900s at the height of his career.]]
⚫
In 1885, van 't Hoff was appointed as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. Other distinctions include honorary doctorates from Harvard and Yale (1901), Victoria University, Manchester (1903), and Heidelberg (1908). He was awarded the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 1893 (along with [[Joseph Le Bel|Le Bel]]), and the Helmholtz Medal of the Prussian Academy of Sciences (1911). He was also appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (1894) and Senator der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (1911). van 't Hoff became an honorary member of the British Chemical Society in London, the Royal Academy of Sciences in [[Göttingen]] (1892), American Chemical Society (1898), and the Académie des Sciences, in Paris (1905). Of his numerous distinctions, van 't Hoff regarded winning the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry as the culmination of his career.
In 1885, van't Hoff was appointed as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences.
⚫
Other distinctions included honorary doctorates from Harvard and Yale 1901, Victoria University, Manchester 1903, Heidelberg 1908; the Davy Medal of the Royal Society 1893 (along with [[Joseph Le Bel|Le Bel]]), Helmholtz Medal of the Prussian Academy of Sciences 1911; he was also appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur 1894, Senator der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (1911). Van 't Hoff became an honorary member of the British Chemical Society in London, the Royal Academy of Sciences, in [[Göttingen]] 1892, American Chemical Society 1898, and the Académie des Sciences, in Paris 1905. Of his numerous distinctions, van't Hoff regarded winning the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry as the culmination of his career.
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{{clear}}

==See also==
==See also==
{{commons|Jacobus van 't Hoff}}
{{commons|Jacobus van 't Hoff}}
Line 66: Line 64:
*Patrick Coffey, Cathedrals of Science: The Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry, Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-532134-0
*Patrick Coffey, Cathedrals of Science: The Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry, Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-532134-0


*Hornix WJ, Mannaerts SHWM, Van't Hoff and the emergence of Chemical Thermodynamics, Delft University Press, 2001, ISBN 90-407-2259-5
*Hornix WJ, Mannaerts SHWM, van't Hoff and the emergence of Chemical Thermodynamics, Delft University Press, 2001, ISBN 90-407-2259-5


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 22:38, 29 August 2010

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff
Born30 August 1852
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died1 March 1911(1911-03-01) (aged 58)
Steglitz, Berlin, Germany
NationalityDutch
Alma materDelft Polytechnic Institute
University of Leiden
University of Bonn
University of Paris
University of Utrecht
Known forChemical kinetics, Stereochemistry
AwardsNobel Prize for Chemistry (1901)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysical chemistry
Organic chemistry
InstitutionsVeterinary College in Utrecht
University of Amsterdam
University of Berlin
Doctoral advisorEduard Mulder

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (30 August 1852 – 1 March 1911) was a Dutch physical and organic chemist and the first winner of the inaugural Nobel Prize in chemistry. His is most well know for research in chemical kinetics, chemical equilibrium, osmotic pressure and stereochemistry. van 't Hoff work in these subjects helped found the discipline of physical chemistry as it is known today.

Biography

van 't Hoff was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and was the third of seven children. His father was Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, a physician, and his mother was Alida Jacoba Kolff.[1] From a young age he was interested in science and nature, and frequently took part in botanical excursions. In his early school years, he showed a strong interest in poetry and philosophy. He considered Lord Byron to be his idol.

Against the wishes of his father, van 't Hoff chose to study chemistry, first at the Delft Polytechnic Institute, then latter at the University of Leiden. He then studied in Bonn, Germany with Friedrich Kekulé and in Paris with C. A. Wurtz. He received his doctorate under Eduard Mulder at the University of Utrecht in 1874. [2]

In 1878, van 't Hoff married Johanna Francina Mees. They had two daughters, Johanna Francina (b. 1880) and Aleida Jacoba (b. 1882), and two sons, Jacobus Hendricus (b. 1883) and Govert Jacob (b. 1889). van 't Hoff died at the age of 58, on 1 March 1911, at Steglitz near Berlin from tuberculosis.

Career

van 't Hoff in the 1900s.

Before he received his doctorate, van 't Hoff had already published the first of his important contributions to the field of organic chemistry. In 1874 he accounted for the phenomenon of optical activity by assuming that the chemical bonds between carbon atoms and their neighbors were directed towards the corners of a regular tetrahedron[3]. This three-dimensional structure accounted for the isomers found in nature. He shares credit for this idea with the French chemist Joseph Le Bel, who independently came up with the same idea.

van 't Hoff published his work on stereochemistry in his book La chimie dans l'éspace, in 1874. At the time, his theory was considered revolutionary, and was strongly criticized by the scientific community. One such critic was the renowned editor of the German Journal für praktische Chemie, Adolph Kolbe, who stated:

A Dr. H. van ’t Hoff of the Veterinary School at Utrecht has no liking, apparently, for exact chemical investigation. He has considered it more comfortable to mount Pegasus (apparently borrowed from the Veterinary School) and to proclaim in his ‘La chimie dans l’espace’ how the atoms appear to him to be arranged in space, when he is on the chemical Mt. Parnassus which he has reached by bold flight.

In 1884, van 't Hoff published his research on chemical kinetics, titled Études de Dynamique chimique ("Studies in Chemical Dynamics"), in which he described a new method for determining the order of a reaction using graphics, and applied the laws of thermodynamics to chemical equilibria. He also introduced the modern concept of chemical affinity. In 1886, he showed a similarity between the behaviour of dilute solutions and gases. In 1887, he and German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald founded an influential scientific magazine named Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie ("Journal of Physical Chemistry"). He worked on Svante Arrhenius's theory of the dissociation of electrolytes and in 1889 provided physical justification for the Arrhenius equation. In 1896, he became a professor at the Prussian Academy of Science in Berlin. His studies of the salt deposits at Stassfurt were an important contribution to Prussia's chemical industry.

van 't Hoff became a lecturer in chemistry and physics at the Veterinary College in Utrecht. He then worked as a professor of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology at the University of Amsterdam for almost 18 years before eventually becoming the chairman of the chemistry department. In 1896 van 't Hoff moved to Germany where he finished his career at the University of Berlin in 1911. In 1901 he received the first Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work with solutions. His work showed that very dilute solutions follow mathematical laws that closely resemble the laws describing the behavior of gases.

Honours and awards

File:J.H. van 't Hoff.gif
van 't Hoff in the 1900s at the height of his career.

In 1885, van 't Hoff was appointed as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. Other distinctions include honorary doctorates from Harvard and Yale (1901), Victoria University, Manchester (1903), and Heidelberg (1908). He was awarded the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 1893 (along with Le Bel), and the Helmholtz Medal of the Prussian Academy of Sciences (1911). He was also appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (1894) and Senator der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (1911). van 't Hoff became an honorary member of the British Chemical Society in London, the Royal Academy of Sciences in Göttingen (1892), American Chemical Society (1898), and the Académie des Sciences, in Paris (1905). Of his numerous distinctions, van 't Hoff regarded winning the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry as the culmination of his career.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jacobus van 't Hoff.
  • van 't Hoff factor
  • van 't Hoff equation
  •  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

References

  • E. W. Meijer (2001). "Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff; Hundred Years of Impact on Stereochemistry in the Netherlands". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 40 (20): 3783. doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20011015)40:20<3783::AID-ANIE3783>3.0.CO;2-J.
  • Trienke M. van der Spek (2006). "Selling a Theory: The Role of Molecular Models in J. H. van 't Hoff's Stereochemistry Theory". Annals of Science. 63 (2): 157. doi:10.1080/00033790500480816.
  • Kreuzfeld HJ, Hateley MJ. (1999). "125 years of enantiomers: back to the roots Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff 1852-1911". Enantiomer. 4 (6): 491–6. PMID 10672458.
  1. ^ Biography on Nobel prize website
  2. ^ Entry in Digital Album Promotorum of Utrecht University
  3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/periodicvideos#p/u/0/b_L9DcGiXyc

Further reading

  • Patrick Coffey, Cathedrals of Science: The Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry, Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-532134-0
  • Hornix WJ, Mannaerts SHWM, van't Hoff and the emergence of Chemical Thermodynamics, Delft University Press, 2001, ISBN 90-407-2259-5

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