HOFF, Jacobus Hendrikus Van ’t

(1852–1911)

   Chemist. Van ’t Hoff studied technology at the Polytechnic School in Delft, physics at Leiden University, and chemistry at the universities of Utrecht, Bonn (Germany), and Paris. In 1878, he was appointed professor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy at the University of Amsterdam. He conducted research in the field of chemical dynam ics (theory of chemical balance and the phenomenon of affinity). In 1896, van ’t Hoff accepted an appointment at the University of Berlin. He was awarded the first Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1901.