J. H. van 't (Jacobus Henricus) Hoff

Born in Rotterdam in 1852, Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff became one of the key figures in modern chemistry. He is especially known for proposing the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms around carbon, a breakthrough that helped explain optical isomerism and opened the way for stereochemistry.

His work later moved toward physical chemistry, where he studied chemical dynamics, osmotic pressure, and the behavior of solutions. In 1901, he received the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry, honoring the wide impact of his research.

Van 't Hoff spent part of his career in Amsterdam and later worked in Berlin. He died in 1911, but his ideas continued to shape both chemistry and biochemistry for generations.