Home > J. H. van 't Hoff

He was born in Rotterdam, the son of a medical doctor. From a young age he was interested in science, and against the wishes of his father he went to study chemistry, first at the Delft Polytechnical Institute, then at the University of Leiden, then to Bonn, Germany (where he studied with Friedrich KekuléFriedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz ( September 7, 1829 July 13, 1896) was a German organic chemist. He was born in Darmstadt. He was professor at Ghent ( 1858- 1865) and at Bonn. He studied various carbon compounds, especially benzene, proposing a car), then ParisEiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city is built on an arc of the River Seine, and is thus divided into two parts: the Right Bank to the north and the smaller Left Bank to (where he studied with C. A. Wurtz), and finally receiving his doctorateDoctor of Philosophy Ph. an abbreviation for the Latin Philosophiae Doctor , or in non-Anglo-Saxon (e. German and Scandinavian) usage Doctor philosophi Dr. was originally a degree granted by a university to a learned individual who had achieved the approv at the University of UtrechtUniversiteit Utrecht (UU © Utrecht University Motto: Sol Iustitiae Illustra Nos Rector Willem Hendrik Gispen School type Public Religious affiliation None Founded 1636 Location Utrecht, The Netherlands Enrollment X grad. X post-grad. Faculty X Utrecht Uni in 1874Events January 1 New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. January Signing of the Pangkor Tr.

Before receiving his doctorate, however, Van 't Hoff already published the first of his important contributions to organic chemistry. He accounted for the phenomenon of optical activity by assuming that the chemical bondIn chemistry, a chemical bond is the force which holds together atoms in molecules or crystals. In many simple compounds, valence bond theory and the concept of oxidation number can be used to predict molecular structure and composition. Similarly, theoris between carbon atoms and their neighbors were directed toward the corners of a regular tetrahedron. This three-dimensional structure perfectly accounted for the isomers found in nature. He shares credit for this idea with the French chemist Joseph LeBel , who independently came up with the same idea.

Van 't Hoff became a lecturer in chemistry and physics at the Veterinary College in Utrecht. Eventually he moved to the chairmanship of the chemistry department at the University of Amsterdam, finishing his career at the University of Berlin from 1896 to 1911. In 1901 he received the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with solutions. This can generally be summarized by stating that very dilute solutions follow mathematical laws that closely resemble the laws describing the behavior of gases.

He died at Steglitz , Germany.