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Article: Van't Hoff, Jacobus Hendricus
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- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
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van't Hoff, Jacobus Hendricus
COFOUNDER OF MODERN STEREOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
1852
–
1911
Jacobus Hendricus van't Hoff, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was in his youth, along with the French chemist Joseph Achille Le Bel, the cofounder of modern stereochemistry. He then became one of the fathers of modern physical chemistry. In 1901 he was awarded the first Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on chemical dynamics and the osmotic pressure in solutions.
As is the case with many creative minds, van't Hoff's career initially encountered many roadblocks, mostly related to the ignorance of the scientific establishment. Unemployed for two years after receiving his ...