Question

What was the conterversy that followed the award of Nobel prize in chemistry to haber? What are the pros and cons of this process? Do you think Haber should or should not have been awarded this prestigious award for his work?

Answer 1

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918 was awarded to Fritz Haber "for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements".

Fritz Haber received his Nobel Prize one year later, in 1919. During the selection process in 1918, the Nobel Committee for Chemistry decided that none of the year's nominations met the criteria as outlined in the will of Alfred Nobel. According to the Nobel Foundation's statutes, the Nobel Prize can in such a case be reserved until the following year, and this statute was then applied. Fritz Haber therefore received his Nobel Prize for 1918 one year later, in 1919.