Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Jr. was a Dutch physical chemist. A highly influential theoretical chemist of his time, van 't Hoff was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. 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 founders of physical chemistry as the discipline is known today.

30 August 1852

Born on the same birth date (30 August 1852): J. Alden Weir

Born on the same birth day (30 August): Agoston Haraszthy • Alex Wyllie • Andy Roddick • Antonio Cabangon-Chua • Bhagwati Charan Verma • Daryl Gates • Denis Healey • Ignazio Giunti • Lisa Ling • Mikal Bridges • Molly Ivins • Peter of Castile • Ryan Ross • Shaun Alexander • Sir Alexander Carew, 2nd Baronet • Theo Hutchcraft • Theodor Svedberg

Born in the same month (August 1852): Agnes Marshall • Arnold Toynbee (historian, born 1852) • Clímaco Calderón • J. Alden Weir • Michael J. McGivney • Radha Gobinda Kar