450 years of Leiden University: Nobel Prize winners (1)

Leiden University was founded in 1575 and is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university has seven faculties (six in Leiden and one in The Hague), with 33.701 students enrolled in 2025. The university boasts a large number of Nobel Prize winners, namely 16 scientists who received this prize. This eighth blog covers: Nobel Prize winners (1).

Nobel

The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious prize in science. This international prize, founded by Alfred Nobel, has been awarded annually since 1901 for achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. In 1968, the Bank of Sweden established the Nobel Prize in Economics in memory of Alfred Nobel. The Nobel laureates are announced every year in October. The winners receive their awards (a cash prize, a gold medal, and a diploma) on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.

Nobel Prize winners

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (Chemistry, 1901) Jacobus van 't Hoff, the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, put chemistry on the map as an exact science. He was a pioneer in physical chemistry, known for his work with chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure. Van 't Hoff studied in Leiden in 1871–1872, where he laid the foundation for his revolutionary ideas. His discovery that molecules behave in three dimensions was one of the first steps toward modern chemistry.

Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (Physics, 1902) Hendrik Lorentz, one of the most influential physicists of all time, won the Nobel Prize in 1902 together with Pieter Zeeman. His work on electromagnetism and the behavior of light was a fundamental building block for Einstein's theory of relativity. Lorentz studied at Leiden University, received his doctorate in 1875, and later became a professor. Throughout his career, Leiden remained his academic home, where he inspired young scientists and collaborated with great thinkers such as Einstein.

Pieter Zeeman (Physics, 1902) Pieter Zeeman discovered how a magnetic field affects light, a phenomenon now known as the Zeeman effect. This insight was crucial for the development of spectroscopy. As a student and doctoral candidate in Leiden (1885–1893), he worked closely with Lorentz. Their joint efforts earned them the Nobel Prize and ensured that Leiden became an epicenter of physical research.

Johannes Diderik van der Waals (Physics, 1910) On June 14, 1873, Van der Waals obtained his doctorate at Leiden University with the dissertation *On the Continuity of the Gaseous and Liquid State*, a treatise that became famous. In it, he formulated his much-acclaimed equation of state. Although the dissertation was written in Dutch, it was reviewed in the journal *Nature* by none other than James Clerk Maxwell. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1910.

Tobias Asser (Anger, 1911) Tobias Asser, one of the architects of international law, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911 for his role in establishing the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. He obtained his doctorate in Leiden in 1860 and became a key figure in international diplomacy. His work emphasized the importance of peaceful dispute resolution and remains a source of inspiration in international law.

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (Physics, 1913) Known as “the man of liquid helium”, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of superconductivity. This groundbreaking phenomenon, in which materials lose their electrical resistance at extremely low temperatures, has made countless technological applications possible. As a professor in Leiden (1882–1926), he led the Cryogenic Laboratory, which became world-famous for experimental research.

Albert Einstein (Physics, 1921) Although Einstein received the Nobel Prize for his work on the photoelectric effect, his name is primarily associated with the theory of relativity. Between 1920 and 1946, he regularly gave guest lectures in Leiden as an adjunct professor. His visits to the city were moments of intense collaboration and friendship with Leiden luminaries such as Lorentz and Kamerlingh Onnes.