Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1946

James Batcheller Sumner

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

John Howard Northrop

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

Wendell Meredith Stanley

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1946 was divided, one half awarded to James Batcheller Sumner "for his discovery that enzymes can be crystallized", the other half jointly to John Howard Northrop and Wendell Meredith Stanley "for their preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in a pure form"

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1946. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Wed. 25 Jun 2025. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1946/summary/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Nobel Prizes 2024

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.