In this article, Dutch capitalization is used fortussenvoegsels inDutch family names. The first letter in Van 't Hoff is capitalized unless it is preceded by a name, initial or title of nobility.
The third of seven children, Van 't Hoff was born inRotterdam, Netherlands, 30 August 1852. His father was Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Sr., a physician, and his mother was Alida Kolff van 't Hoff.[10] From a young age, he was interested in science and nature, and frequently took part in botanical excursions. In his early school years, he showed a strong interest in poetry andphilosophy. He consideredLord Byron to be his idol.
In 1878, Van 't Hoff married Johanna Francina Mees. They had two daughters, Johanna Francina (1880–1964) and Aleida Jacoba (1882–1971), and two sons, Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff III (1883–1943) and Govert Jacob (1889–1918). Van 't Hoff died at the age of 58, on 1 March 1911, atSteglitz, near Berlin, oftuberculosis.
Van 't Hoff earned his earliest reputation in the field oforganic chemistry. In 1874, he accounted for the phenomenon ofoptical activity by assuming that thechemical bonds betweencarbonatoms and their neighbors were directed towards the corners of a regulartetrahedron.[15][16] This three-dimensional structure accounted for theisomers found in nature. He shares credit for this with the French chemistJoseph Le Bel, who independently came up with the same idea.
Three months before his doctoral degree was awarded, Van 't Hoff published this theory, which today is regarded as the foundation ofstereochemistry, first in a Dutch pamphlet in the fall of 1874, and then in the following May in a small French book entitledLa chimie dans l'espace. A German translation appeared in 1877, at a time when the only job Van 't Hoff could find was at the Veterinary School in Utrecht. In these early years his theory was largely ignored by the scientific community, and was sharply criticized by one prominent chemist,Hermann Kolbe. Kolbe wrote:
"A Dr. J. H. van 't Hoff of the Veterinary School at Utrecht has no liking, apparently, for exact chemical investigation. He has considered it more convenient to mount Pegasus (apparently borrowed from the Veterinary School) and to proclaim in his‘La chimie dans l’espace’ how, in his bold flight to the top of the chemical Parnassus, the atoms appeared to him to be arranged in cosmic space."
However, by about 1880, support for Van 't Hoff's theory by such important chemists asJohannes Wislicenus andViktor Meyer brought recognition.
In 1884, Van 't Hoff published his research on chemical kinetics, titledÉtudes de Dynamique chimique ("Studies in Chemical Dynamics"), in which he described a new method for determining theorder of a reaction usinggraphics and applied the laws ofthermodynamics to chemical equilibria. He also introduced the modern concept ofchemical affinity. In 1886, he showed a similarity between the behaviour of dilute solutions and gases. In 1887, he and German chemistWilhelm Ostwald founded an influential scientific magazine namedZeitschrift für physikalische Chemie ("Journal of Physical Chemistry"). He worked onSvante Arrhenius's theory of the dissociation ofelectrolytes and in 1889 provided physical justification for theArrhenius equation. In 1896, he became a professor at thePrussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. His studies of the salt deposits atStassfurt were an important contribution to Prussia's chemical industry.
Van 't Hoff became a lecturer in chemistry and physics at theVeterinary College inUtrecht. He then worked as a professor of chemistry,mineralogy, andgeology at theUniversity of Amsterdam for almost 18 years before eventually becoming the chairman of the chemistry department. In 1896, van 't Hoff moved to Germany, where he finished his career at theUniversity of Berlin in 1911. In 1901, he received the firstNobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with solutions. His work showed that very dilute solutions follow mathematical laws that closely resemble the laws describing the behavior ofgases.
^Spek, Trienke M. van der (2006). "Selling a Theory: The Role of Molecular Models in J. H. van 't Hoff's Stereochemistry Theory".Annals of Science.63 (2): 157.doi:10.1080/00033790500480816.S2CID218636163.
^Kreuzfeld, HJ; Hateley, MJ. (1999). "125 years of enantiomers: back to the roots Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff 1852–1911".Enantiomer.4 (6):491–6.PMID10672458.
^abH.A.M., Snelders (1993).De geschiedenis van de scheikunde in Nederland. Deel 1: Van alchemie tot chemie en chemische industrie rond 1900. Delftse Universitaire Pers.
^abCordfunke, E. H. P. (2001).Een romantisch geleerde: Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (1852–1911). Vossiuspers UvA.
^*Van 't Hoff (3 September 1874)Voorstel tot Uitbreiding der Tegenwoordige in de Scheikunde gebruikte Structuurformules in de Ruimte, benevens een daarmee samenhangende Opmerking omtrent het Verband tusschen Optisch Actief Vermogen en chemische Constitutie van Organische Verbindingen (Proposal for the Extension of Current Chemical Structural Formulas into Space, together with Related Observation on the Connection between Optically Active Power and the Chemical Constitution of Organic Compounds) [pamphlet published by the author]. Available in English at:ChemTeam.
