# Theodore William Richards

_United States chemist (1868–1928)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/theodore-william-richards
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Theodore William Richards was an American physical chemist and the first American scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, earning the award "in recognition of his exact determinations of the atomic weights of a large number of the chemical elements."

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 31 January 1868 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Germantown ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P19))
- **Died:** 2 April 1928 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P570))
- **Place of death:** Cambridge ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P20))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P27))
- **Occupation:** chemist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P106))
- **Education:** Harvard University; Haverford College ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P69))
- **Awards:** Faraday Lectureship Prize; Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Willard Gibbs Award; Lavoisier Medal; Davy Medal; Franklin Medal; Foreign Member of the Royal Society ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465#P166))

## Questions

**When was Theodore William Richards born?**  
Theodore William Richards was born on 31 January 1868 in Germantown.

**Where did Theodore William Richards study?**  
Theodore William Richards was educated at Harvard University, Haverford College.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Theodore William Richards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_William_Richards) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q189465](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189465) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Theodore william richards.jpg by Nobel Foundation (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theodore_william_richards.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Theodore William Richards, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Theodore william richards.jpg — Nobel Foundation, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Theodore William Richards". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/theodore-william-richards. Retrieved 14 November 2026.