From a young age he was interested in science and nature; he frequently took part in botanical excursions, and his receptiveness for philosophy and his predilection for poetry were already apparent in his early school years.
Educated in Delft Polytechnic as a technical chemist, he later studied physics and mathematics in Leiden. He finally received his doctorate at the University of Utrecht in 1874.
In 1874 van ‘t Hoff published a paper entitled A Suggestion Looking to the Extension into Space of the Structural Formulas at Present Used in Chemistry, which effectively created a new branch of science – stereochemistry. He initially shook the basic ideas of chemistry with his description of the three dimensional nature of molecules.
Van ‘t Hoff became a lecturer in chemistry and physics at the Veterinary College in Utrecht.
He then became a professor of chemistry, mineralogy and geology at the University of Amsterdam for almost 18 years before eventually becoming the chairman and the chemistry department.
In 1896 he was elected to become a full member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin and honorary Professor at the University of Berlin.
Van ‘t Hoff received the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1901 for his fundamental discoveries in physical chemistry, including his work on the colligative properties of solutions.
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (30 August 1852 – 1 March 1911)
