Revisiting Wilhelm Ostwald’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The historical narratives on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry granted to the Baltic-German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932) hardly address the strong support Ostwald received nor the reasons presented in their nomination letters. Considering to be relevant presenting the reasons behind Ostwald’s prize, in this work we present and discuss the nomination letters sent in Ostwald’s favor in Nobel Prize editions between 1904 and 1909. Analysing these letters and dialoguing with the literature, we argue that, for Ostwald’s supporters, his most relevant achievements concerned his extra-laboratorial activities, namely his role as a teacher and organizer of chemical science. We will also attempt to demystify some frequent discourses on Ostwald’s nomination, such as the negative influence of his antiatomist posture and the central role of catalysis for his nomination.