List of female nominators for the Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize medal received by the laureates

The Nobel Prize (Swedish: Nobelpriset) is a set of five different prizes that, according to its benefactor Alfred Nobel in his 1895 will, must be awarded "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". The five prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.

Since 1901, numerous nominators have forwarded their nominations of distinguished individuals or organizations for the prize, and most of these nominators were women. The following is a list of the female nominators for the prestigious Nobel Prize:

Physics

The Nobel Committee for Physics sends confidential forms to persons who are competent and qualified to nominate. According to the nomination process, the individuals are considered the qualified nominators for the physics prize:

  • 1. Swedish and foreign members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences;
  • 2. Members of the Nobel Committee for Physics;
  • 3. Nobel Prize laureates in physics;
  • 4. Tenured professors in the Physical sciences at the universities and institutes of technology of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm;
  • 5. Holders of corresponding chairs in at least six universities or university colleges (normally, hundreds of universities) selected by the Academy of Sciences with a view to ensuring the appropriate distribution over the different countries and their seats of learning; and
  • 6. Other scientists from whom the Academy may see fit to invite proposals.
Image Nominator Born Died Nominees Citation Year(s) Nominated
Physics
Marie Skłodowska-Curie 7 November 1867
Warsaw, Poland
4 July 1934
Passy, Haute-Savoie, France
Joseph John Thompson (1856–1940) 1905
Henri Poincaré (1854–1912) 1910
Hertha Sponer 1 September 1895
Nysa, Poland
27 February 1968
Sehnde, Germany
Samuel Goudsmit (1902–1978) 1956
George Uhlenbeck (1900–1988)
Marie-Antoinette Tonnelat 5 March 1912
Charolles, France
3 December 1980
Paris, France
Louis Néel (1904–2000) 1960
Alfred Kastler (1902–1984) 1965
Anne Barbara Underhill 12 June 1920
Vancouver, Canada
3 July 2003
Vancouver, Canada
Hendrik Christoffel van de Hulst (1918–2000) 1964
Katharina Boll-Dornberger 2 November 1909
Vienna, Austria
27 July 1981
Berlin, Germany
John Desmond Bernal (1901–1971) 1966
Maria Goeppert Mayer 28 June 1906
Katowice, Poland
20 February 1972
San Diego, California, United States
Bernd Theodor Matthias (1918–1980) 1966, 1967, 1970
Eleanor Margaret Burbidge 12 August 1919
Davenport, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
5 April 2020
San Francisco, California, United States
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995) 1970
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 12 May 1910
Cairo, Egypt
29 July 1994
Ilmington, United Kingdom
Paul Peter Ewald (1888–1985) 1970

Chemistry

For the chemistry prize, the following individuals are considered as qualified nominators:

  • 1. Swedish and foreign members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences;
  • 2. Members of the Nobel Committees for Chemistry and Physics;
  • 3. Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry and physics;
  • 4. Permanent professors in the sciences of Chemistry at the universities and institutes of technology of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm;
  • 5. Holders of corresponding chairs in at least six universities or university colleges selected by the Academy of Sciences with a view to ensuring the appropriate distribution over the different countries and their centers of learning; and
  • 6. Other scientists from whom the Academy may see fit to invite proposals.
Image Nominator Born Died Nominees Citation Year(s) Nominated
Chemistry
Marie Reimer 9 May 1867
United States
24 February 1947
United States
Moses Gomberg (1866–1947) 1928
Vincent du Vigneaud (1901–1978) 1945
Irène Joliot-Curie 12 September 1897
Paris, France
17 March 1956
Paris, France
George de Hevesy (1885–1966) 1936
Georges Urbain (1872–1938)
Jacques Tréfouël (1897–1977) 1944, 1946
Linus Pauling (1901–1994) 1954
Anna Chrząszczewska Poland Poland Wojciech Świętosławski (1881–1968) 1936
Pauline Ramart-Lucas 22 November 1880
Paris, France
17 March 1953
Paris, France
Ernest Fourneau (1872–1949) 1940
Jacques Tréfouël (1897–1977) 1940, 1946, 1950
Gabriel Bertrand (1867–1962) 1948
Thérèse Tréfouël (1892–1978) 1950
Gladwyn Buttle (1899–1983) 1950
Clara Benson 5 June 1875
Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
24 March 1964
Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
Donald Van Slyke (1883–1971) 1941
Robley Cook Williams (1908–1995) 1945
Germaine Cauquil 1 November 1897
Montpellier, France
30 January 1983
Montpellier, France
Ernest Fourneau (1872–1949) 1949
Maurice-Marie Janot (1903–1978) 1957
Maria Mercedes de Menarfa Uruguay Uruguay Domingo Giribaldo (1876–1950) 1949
Marguerite Perey 19 October 1909
Villemomble, France
13 May 1975
Louveciennes, France
Glenn Theodore Seaborg (1912–1999) 1951
Charles DuBois Coryell (1912–1971) 1957
Gerty Theresa Radnitz-Cori 15 August 1896
Prague, Czech Republic
26 October 1957
Glendale, Missouri, United States
Frederick Sanger (1918–2013) 1954
Vincent du Vigneaud (1901–1978)
Salli Eskola 12 May 1906
Lammi, Finland
11 October 1994
Helsinki, Finland
Johan Arvid Hedvall (1888–1974) 1956
Karl Freudenberg (1886–1983) 1957
Robert Burns Woodward (1917–1979) 1960, 1962, 1963
Irena Chmielewska 13 July 1905
Łodz, Poland
17 January 1987
Warsaw, Poland
Melvin Calvin (1911–1997) 1957
Antonia Elisabeth Korvezee 8 March 1899
Wijnaldum, Netherlands
17 January 1978
The Hague, Netherlands
Wilhelm Gerhard Burgers (1897–1988) 1960
Carolina Henriette MacGillavry 22 January 1904
Amsterdam, Netherlands
9 May 1993
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Johannes Martin Bijvoet (1892–1980) 1961, 1966
Maria Lipp 6 April 1892
Stolberg, Germany
12 December 1966
Aachen, Germany
Karl Ziegler (1898–1973) 1961
Eva Philbin 4 January 1914
Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland
24 June 2005
Dublin, Ireland
Christopher Kelk Ingold (1893–1970) 1964
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 12 May 1910
Cairo, Egypt
29 July 1994
Ilmington, United Kingdom
Johannes Martin Bijvoet (1892–1980) 1966, 1970
Maria Goeppert Mayer 28 June 1906
Katowice, Poland
20 February 1972
San Diego, California, United States
Lars Onsager (1903–1976) 1966, 1967
Martin Kamen (1913–2002) 1970
Erika Cremer 20 May 1900
Munich, Germany
21 September 1996
Innsbruck, Austria
Erwin Wilhelm Müller (1911–1977) 1967
Ivan Stranski (1897–1979)
Klaus Biemann (1926–2016) 1970
Inga Fischer-Hjalmars 16 January 1918
Stockholm, Sweden
17 September 2008
Lidingö, Sweden
Gerhard Herzberg (1904–1999) 1970

Physiology or Medicine

For the physiology or medicine prize, the following individuals are entitled to nominate:

  • 1. Members of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm;
  • 2. Swedish and foreign members of the Medicine and Biology classes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences;
  • 3. Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine and chemistry;
  • 4. Members of the Nobel Committee not qualified in the first paragraph;
  • 5. Holders of established posts as full professors at the faculties of medicine in Sweden and holders of similar posts at the faculties of medicine or similar institutions in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway;
  • 6. Holders of similar posts at no fewer than six other faculties of medicine at universities around the world, selected by the Nobel Assembly, with a view to ensuring the appropriate distribution of the task among various countries.
  • 7. Scientists whom the Nobel Assembly may otherwise see fit to approach.
Image Nominator Born Died Nominees Citation Year(s) Nominated
Physiology or Medicine
Florence Rena Sabin 9 November 1871
Central City, Colorado, United States
3 October 1953
Denver, Colorado, United States
Jacques Loeb (1859–1924) "for the work Proteins and the theory of colloidal behavior. 1924
Oswald Avery (1877–1955) "for his chemo-immunological studies on conjugated carbohydrate proteins." 1932, 1939
Michael Heidelberger (1888–1991) "for his work on the chemical nature and immunochemical significance of the polysaccharides in pneumococci." 1939
Cécile Vogt-Mugnier 27 March 1875
Annecy, France
4 May 1962
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866–1945) "for his work on genetics, gene mutations, phenotypical divergencies, the demonstration of three coupling groups in the genes of Drosophila." 1932
Hermann Joseph Muller (1890–1967) "for his work on genetics, "crossing over", lethal factors, the demonstration of a fourth coupling group in the genes of Drosophila, the effect of temperature changes and X-rays on the mutation rate."
Ellen James Patterson United States United States Chevalier Jackson (1865–1958) "for his work on bronchoscopy, laryngology, esophagoscopy and gastroscopy. 1935
Anne Bourquin United States United States Hans Christian Hagedorn (1888–1971) "for his work on and discovery of protamine insulinate." 1937
Gladys Marchant India United Kingdom William Burridge (?) "for his work on natural stimulation and excitability." 1937
Leslie Webster United States United States John Howard Northrop (1891–1987) "for the purification, crystallization and method of action of pepsin and trypsin; purification of their pro-enzymes." 1939
James Batcheller Sumner (1887–1955) "for the purification and crystallization of the enzyme urease and the study of its action."
Esther Killick 3 May 1902
Ilford, United Kingdom
31 May 1960
London, United Kingdom
John Boyd Orr (1880–1971) "for his work on nutritional physiology, and the importance of the application of these findings to human health and nutrition." 1947
Meredith Fairfax Campbell 1894
United States
1968
United States
Homer William Smith (1895–1962) "for the new concepts of kidney physiology: quantitative methods for measuring glomerular filtration rate and maximal tubular excretory and re-absorptive capacities." 1948
Gerty Theresa Radnitz-Cori 15 August 1896
Prague, Czech Republic
26 October 1957
Glendale, Missouri, United States
Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–1981) "for the discovery of the mechanism of urea formation in mammals, oxidative decomposition of d-amino acids and carbohydrates." 1949, 1952, 1953
Chester Hamlin Werkman (1893–1962) "for the discovery of the fixation of carbon dioxide by cells which do not contain chlorophyll." 1949
Harland Goff Wood (1907–1991)
Fritz Albert Lipmann (1899–1986) "for his discovery of the role of phosphate-linked energy in biological synthesis and the role of panthotenic acid as a coenzyme." 1953
Olga Bridgman 30 March 1886
Jackson, Michigan, United States
6 February 1974
San Mateo, California, United States
Karl Friedrich Meyer (1884–1974) "for his work on brucellosis, coccidioidomycosis, encephalitis, and botulismus." 1950
Hanna Hirszfeldowa 17 July 1884
Wrocław, Poland
20 February 1964
Wrocław, Poland
Robert Debré (1882–1978) 1953

Literature

The Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy sends invitation letters to persons who are qualified to nominate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. The following individuals are eligible forwarding nominations:

Image Nominator Born Died Nominees Citation Year(s) Nominated
Literature
Mary Augusta Ward 11 June 1851
Hobart, Australia
24 March 1920
London, United Kingdom
George Meredith (1828–1909) 1902, 1907
Alice Stopford Green 30 May 1847
Kells, County Meath, Ireland
28 May 1929
Dublin, Ireland
John Morley (1838–1923) 1902
Caroline Borden United States United States Borden Parker Bowne (1847–1910) 1906
Edith Nesbith-Bland 15 August 1858
Kennington, Surrey, United Kingdom
4 May 1924
New Romney, Kent, United Kingdom
Andrew Lang (1844–1912) 1910
Selma Lagerlöf 20 November 1858
Sunne, Sweden
16 March 1940
Sunne, Sweden
Georg Brandes (1842–1927) 1920, 1922
Edith Morley 13 September 1875
Bayswater, London, United Kingdom
18 January 1964
Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) 1920
Helga Eng 31 May 1875
Rakkestad, Norway
26 May 1966
Oslo, Norway
Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) 1928
Olav Duun (1876–1939) 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934,
1935, 1936, 1937
Sofia Antoniadou Greece Greece Kostis Palamas (1859–1943) 1936
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck 26 June 1892
Hillsboro, West Virginia, United States
6 March 1973
Danby, Vermont, United States
Lin Yutang (1895–1976) 1940, 1950
Van Wyck Brooks (1886–1963) 1952
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965) 1958
Robert Frost (1874–1963) 1961
Eugenia Kielland 23 April 1878
Skedsmo, Norway
7 April 1969
Oslo, Norway
Johan Falkberget (1879–1967) 1945
Elin Wägner 16 May 1882
Lund, Sweden
7 January 1949
Växjö, Sweden
Gabriela Mistral (1889–1957) 1945
Angelos Sikelianos (1884–1951) 1948
Greta Hedin 21 March 1889
Gothenburg, Sweden
14 June 1949
Uppsala, Sweden
Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970) 1945
Louise Rosenblatt 23 August 1904
Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
8 February 2005
Arlington County, Virginia, United States
Horace Kallen (1882–1974) 1947
Sigrid Undset 20 May 1882
Kalundborg, Norway
10 June 1949
Lillehammer, Norway
Johan Falkberget (1879–1967) 1948
Gabriela Mistral 7 April 1889
Vicuña, Chile
10 January 1957
Hempstead, New York, United States
Alfonso Reyes (1889–1959) 1949
Alberto Hidalgo (1897–1967) 1953
Mary Elizabeth Morton 1876
Ireland
1957
Ireland
Seán O'Casey (1880–1964) 1950
Kersti Bergroth 24 January 1886
Vyborg, Russia
24 January 1975
Helsinki, Finland
Albert Steffen (1884–1963) 1950
Margot Arce de Vázquez 10 March 1904
Caguas, Puerto Rico
14 November 1990
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Rómulo Gallegos (1884–1969) 1951
Julia Braschi Puerto Rico Puerto Rico
Asta Kihlbom 21 March 1892
Mariestad, Sweden
15 January 1984
Lund, Sweden
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) 1952
Gladys Willcock United States United States Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) 1955
Gladys Turquet-Milnes 21 April 1887
Wandsworth, Surrey, United Kingdom
17 January 1977
London, United Kingdom
André Malraux (1901–1976) 1955
Amelia Agostini de Del Río 1896
Yauco, Puerto Rico
11 December 1996
Spring Lake, New Jersey, United States
Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968) 1956
María Rosa Lida de Malkiel 7 November 1910
Buenos Aires, Argentina
25 September 1962
Oakland, California, United States
1956
Leonida Biancolini Spain Spain 1956
Alfonsina Braun 1906
Italy
1970
Italy
1956
María Concepción Zardoya 14 November 1914
Valparaíso, Chile
21 April 2004
Madrid, Spain
1956
Odette Bornand France France Georges Duhamel (1884–1966) 1956
Jacqueline Duchemin 20 May 1910
Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
19 November 1988
Labenne, Landes, France
Georges Duhamel (1884–1966) 1956
Pierre Emmanuel (1916–1984) 1966
Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) 1969
Marie-Jeanne Durry 25 March 1901
Paris, France
2 June 1980
Paris, France
Marthe Bibesco (1886–1973) 1956
Anna Hyatt Huntington 10 March 1876
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
4 October 1973
Redding, Connecticut, United States
Armand Godoy (1880–1964) 1956
Ingerid Dal 2 August 1895
Drammen, Norway
17 February 1985
Oslo, Norway
André Schwarz-Bart (1928–2006) 1962
Elizabeth Hill 27 February 1901
Cape Elizabeth, Maine, United States
21 August 1978
Los Angeles, California, United States
Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) 1964, 1968
Greta Hort 25 May 1903
Copenhagen, Denmark
19 August 1967
Risskov, Aarhus, Denmark
Judith Wright (1915–2000) 1964, 1965
Maria Villavecchia Bellonci 30 November 1902
Rome, Italy
13 May 1986
Rome, Italy
Carlo Levi (1902–1975) 1966
Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) 1966
Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888–1970) 1969
Barbara Hardy 27 June 1924
Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
12 February 2016
London, United Kingdom
Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) 1967
Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) 1970, 1971
Nelly Sachs 10 December 1891
Berlin, Germany
12 May 1970
Stockholm, Sweden
Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) 1967, 1968
Berta Moritz-Siebeck 1912
Germany
1989
Germany
Ezra Pound (1885–1972) 1967
Mary Durack Miller 20 February 1913
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
16 December 1994
Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
Judith Wright (1915–2000) 1967
Muriel Clara Bradbrook 27 April 1909
Birkenhead, United Kingdom
11 June 1993
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Patrick White (1912–1990) 1968, 1970
Kristine Heltberg 12 July 1924
Warsaw, Poland
7 June 2003
Copenhagen, Denmark
Jerzy Andrzejewski (1909–1983) 1969
Anna Kamenova 31 December 1894
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1 August 1982
Sofia, Bulgaria
Elisaveta Bagryana (1893–1991) 1969
Helen Louise Gardner 13 February 1908
Finchley, London, United Kingdom
4 June 1986
Bicester, Cherwell, United Kingdom
Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) 1969, 1970
Beatrice Miller White 20 March 1908
California, United States
15 April 1995
Santa Clara, California, United States
Robert Graves (1895–1985) 1969
Mary Renault 4 September 1905
Forest Gate, Essex, United Kingdom
13 December 1983
Cape Town, South Africa
Graham Greene (1904–1991) 1970, 1971
Jara Ribnikar 23 August 1912
Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
30 April 2007
Belgrade, Serbia
Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981) 1970
Saul Bellow (1915–2005) 1971
Gerd Høst-Heyerdahl 28 March 1915
Oslo, Norway
1 March 2007
Oslo, Norway
Erich Kästner (1899–1974) 1970
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) 1971
Hilde Spiel 19 October 1911
Vienna, Austria
30 November 1990
Vienna, Austria
Alexander Lernet-Holenia (1897–1976) 1970
Josephine Louise Miles 11 June 1911
Chicago, Illinois, United States
12 May 1985
Berkeley, California, United States
Pablo Neruda (1904–1973) 1970, 1971
Petronella Maria Boer-den Hoed 6 July 1899
Leiden, Netherlands
28 January 1973
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971) 1970
Hesba Fay Brinsmead 15 March 1922
Berambing, New South Wales, Australia
24 November 2003
Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia
Patrick White (1912–1990) 1970
Eeva Kilpi 18 February 1928
Khiytola, Karelia, Russia
Jerzy Andrzejewski (1909–1983) 1971
Paavo Haavikko (1931–2008) 1971
Väinö Linna (1920–1992) 1971
Meta Mayne Reid 1905
Woodlesford, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
1990
Crawfordsburn, County Down, United Kingdom
William Golding (1911–1993) 1971
Petronella O'Flanagan Ireland Ireland Arthur Miller (1915–2005) 1971
Henry Williamson (1895–1977) 1971
Pacita Icasiano-Habana Philippines Philippines José García Villa (1908–1997) 1971

Peace

According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, a nomination is considered valid if it is submitted by a person or a group of people who falls within one of the following categories:

Image Nominator Born Died Nominees Citation Year(s) Nominated
Peace
Ellen Robinson 14 March 1840
Derby, United Kingdom
6 March 1912
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Élie Ducommun (1833–1906) "for being an unpaid leader of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, participating at the foundation of Ligue de la Paix et de la Liberté, advocating a pragmatic and practical approach to peace work, and promoting international arbitration." 1901
Permanent International Peace Bureau (founded in 1891) "for organizing peace conferences, collecting and publishing peace literature, and coordinating in the activities of the various national and non-governmental peace organizations." 1902, 1907
Bertha von Suttner (1843–1914) "for her contribution to the international peace movement, writing the most important antiwar novel of the period "Die Waffen nieder!" ("Lay Down Your Arms", 1889), founding and leading the Austrian Peace Society (1891), and contributing to the foundation of the Permanent International Peace Bureau." 1903, 1904, 1905
Edvard Wavrinsky (1848–1924) "for his contribution to the peaceful dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian Union in 1905 and being the chairman of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration League." 1906
Bertha Sophie von Suttner 9 June 1843
Prague, Czech Republic
21 June 1914
Vienna, Austria
Frédéric Passy (1822–1912) "for founding the first French peace society (Ligue internationale et permanente de la paix), promoting free trade, pacifism, international law and arbitration, and contributing to the founding of the Inter-Parliamentary Union." 1901
Élie Ducommun (1833–1906) "for being an unpaid leader of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, participating at the foundation of Ligue de la Paix et de la Liberté, advocating a pragmatic and practical approach to peace work, and promoting international arbitration." 1902
Fredrik Bajer (1837–1922) "for promoting Nordic neutrality and brotherhood, being one of the initiators and founders of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, organizing peace work both in Denmark and internationally, both popular peace movements and parliamentary peace work, becoming Scandinavia's most prominent peace advocate." 1904, 1906, 1907
Édouard Descamps (1847–1933) "for his inter-parliamentary peace work, writing significant works on neutrality and disarmament, and also contributing to the abolitionist movement." 1904, 1905
Paul Henri Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant (1852–1924) "for his work to strengthen international arbitration and strongly promoting the Permanent Court of Arbitration, founding the French Groupe de l'Arbitrage in 1903 and the Conciliation Internationale, a network of peace workers aimed at influencing public opinion, and advocating Franco-German conciliation and wanted a European federation." 1909
Thomas Barclay (1853–1941) "for promoting arbitration, conciliation and international law while president of the British Chamber of Commerce (1899–1900), member of the Institute of International Law, and deputy Chairman of the International Law Association." 1910
Alfred Hermann Fried (1864–1921) "for promoted international law, pacifism and disarmament while working closely with Bertha von Suttner, establishing the German Peace Society (Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft), and publishing pacifist books "Pan-Amerika" and "Der Kaiser und der Weltfrieden"." 1911
Otto Umfrid (1857–1920) "for working hard to change the attitude of the German evangelical clergy towards peace, writing and publishing numerous articles on peace such as Europa den Europäern: Politische Ketzereienwhile while chairman of the Stuttgart Peace Society and vice-president of the German Peace Society." 1914
Helene Stöcker 13 November 1869
Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany
24 February 1943
Riverside Drive, New York City, New York, United States
Emil Strauss (1866–1960) No motivation given 1903

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