The
Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of
chemistry. It is one of the five
Nobel Prizes established by the 1895
will of
Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896. These prizes are awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry,
physics,
literature,
peace, and
physiology or medicine. As dictated by Nobel's will, the award is administered by the
Nobel Foundation and awarded by a committee that consists of five members elected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The first Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in 1901 to
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, of the Netherlands. Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma and a monetary award prize that has varied throughout the years. In 1901, van 't Hoff received 150,782
SEK, which is equal to 7,731,004 SEK in December 2007. The award is presented in
Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.