# Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff

_Dutch physical and organic chemist (1852-1911)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/jacobus-henricus-van-t-hoff
Last updated: 2026-10-07

> Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Jr. was a Dutch physical chemist. A highly influential theoretical chemist, in 1901 Van 't Hoff won the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry "[for his] discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions". His pioneering work helped found the modern theory of chemical affinity, chemical equilibrium, chemical kinetics, and chemical thermodynamics. In his 1874 pamphlet, Van 't Hoff formulated the theory of the tetrahedral carbon atom and laid the foundations of stereochemistry. In 1875, he predicted the correct structures of allenes and cumulenes as well as their axial chirality. He is also widely considered one of the three co-founders of physical chemistry as the discipline is known today. The Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie was founded in 1887 by Van ’t Hoff, Svante Arrhenius and Wilhelm Ostwald, at Leipzig University as the first dedicated scientific journal for the discipline.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 30 August 1852 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Rotterdam ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P19))
- **Died:** 1 March 1911 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P570))
- **Place of death:** Steglitz ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Kingdom of the Netherlands ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P27))
- **Occupation:** chemist; physicist; engineer; geologist; university teacher; stereochemist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P106))
- **Education:** Leiden University; Delft University of Technology; University of Bonn; Utrecht University; University of Paris ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P69))
- **Spouse:** Johanna Francina Mees ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P26))
- **Awards:** Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order; Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Helmholtz Medal; Davy Medal; Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art; Foreign Member of the Royal Society; Pour le Mérite; honorary member of the Physics Association (Frankfurt am Main, Germany); Honorary doctor of the Heidelberg University ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822#P166))

## Questions

**When was Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff born?**  
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff was born on 30 August 1852 in Rotterdam.

**Where did Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff study?**  
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff was educated at Leiden University, Delft University of Technology, University of Bonn, Utrecht University.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobus_Henricus_van_'t_Hoff) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikipedia (Nepali): जेकोबस हेनरिकस भ्यान 'ट हफ जुनियर](https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%B8_%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B8_%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8_%27%E0%A4%9F_%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%AB_%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B0) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q102822](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102822) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Jacobus van 't Hoff by Perscheid 1904.jpg by Nicola Perscheid (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacobus_van_%27t_Hoff_by_Perscheid_1904.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Jacobus van 't Hoff by Perscheid 1904.jpg — Nicola Perscheid, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff". DigiNepal. Last updated 7 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/jacobus-henricus-van-t-hoff. Retrieved 6 November 2026.