List of German Nobel laureates

From the Nobel Prize's establishment in 1901 until 1956, Germany had the highest number of Nobel laureates in the world.^[1] Today, Germany is the nation with the 3rd most Nobel Prize winners: 2nd most in the category of physics, 3rd most in chemistry^[2] and physiology or medicine,^[3] and 4th most in literature. Overall, there are 115 German Nobel Prize laureates.

Nobel Peace Prize

Name	Year	Lifespan	Achievements	Image
Gustav Stresemann	1926	1878–1929	Reconciliation with France to ensure peace in Europe
Ludwig Quidde	1928	1858–1941	Organization of peace conferences
Carl von Ossietzky	1935	1889–1938	Commitment against German militarism as editor of Weltbühne
Albert Schweitzer	1952	1875–1965	Work against the nuclear armament
Willy Brandt	1971	1913–1992	Ostpolitik
Henry Kissinger	1973	1923–2023	Negotiation of a ceasefire in the Vietnam War

Nobel Prize in Literature

Name	Year	Lifespan	Achievements	Image
Theodor Mommsen	1902	1817–1903	The History of Rome
Rudolf Eucken	1908	1846–1926	"for serious seeking after truth, penetrating thought, breadth and warmth of presentation, with which he has represented and developed an ideal worldview in numerous works"
Paul Heyse	1910	1830–1914	his fictional works
Gerhart Hauptmann	1912	1862–1946	"for his fruitful and versatile work in the realm of dramatic poetry"
Thomas Mann	1929	1875–1955	Buddenbrooks
Hermann Hesse	1946	1877–1962	"for his work imbued with profound immersion that developed ever more boldly and incisively, revealing the ideals of classical humanism along with a high artistic style"
Nelly Sachs	1966	1891–1970	"for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic works that interpret the fate of Israel with moving strength"
Heinrich Böll	1972	1917–1985	Complete works
Günter Grass	1999	1927–2015	Life's work
Herta Müller	2009	* 1953	Complete works

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Name	Year	Lifespan	Achievements	Image
Emil Fischer	1902	1852–1919	Research on sugar and purine groups
Adolf von Baeyer	1905	1835–1917	Work on organic dyes and hydroaromatic compounds
Eduard Buchner	1907	1860–1917	Discovery of cell-free fermentation
Wilhelm Ostwald	1909	1853–1932	Work on Catalysis
Otto Wallach	1910	1847–1931	Research in the field of cyclic hydrocarbons
Richard Willstätter	1915	1872–1942	Research on chlorophyll
Fritz Haber	1918	1868–1934	Development of a process for producing Ammonia
Walther Nernst	1920	1864–1941	Research on Thermochemistry
Heinrich Otto Wieland	1927	1877–1957	Research on Bile Acids
Adolf Windaus	1928	1876–1959	"for merits regarding the research on the structure of sterines and their relationship with vitamins"
Hans von Euler-Chelpin	1929	1873–1964	"for research on sugar fermentation and the contribution of enzymes to this process"
Hans Fischer	1930	1881–1945	Hemin synthesis
Friedrich Bergius	1931	1884–1949	"for contributions to the discovery and development of chemical high-pressure processes"
Carl Bosch	1931	1874–1940	Development of chemical high-pressure processes
Richard Kuhn	1938	1900–1967	"for his work on carotenoids and vitamins"
Adolf Butenandt	1939	1903–1995	Research on Steroid Hormones
Otto Hahn	1944	1879–1968	"for his discovery of the fission of heavy atomic nuclei"
Otto Diels	1950	1876–1954	Discovery of the Diels-Alder Reaction
Kurt Alder	1950	1902–1958	Discovery of the Diels-Alder Reaction
Hermann Staudinger	1953	1881–1965	Founding of Polymer Chemistry
Karl Ziegler	1963	1898–1973	Discoveries in the field of Polymers
Manfred Eigen	1967	1927–2019	Measurement of the rates of fast chemical reactions
Gerhard Herzberg	1971	1904–1999	"for his contributions to the knowledge of the electronic structure and geometry of molecules, especially free radicals"
Ernst Otto Fischer	1973	1917–2007	Research on organometallic sandwich complexes
Georg Wittig	1979	1897–1987	Wittig Reaction
Johann Deisenhofer	1988	* 1943	"for the investigation of the three-dimensional structure of the reaction center of Photosynthesis in a purple bacterium"
Robert Huber	1988	* 1937	"for the investigation of the three-dimensional structure of the reaction center of Photosynthesis in a purple bacterium"
Hartmut Michel	1988	* 1948	"for the investigation of the three-dimensional structure of the reaction center of Photosynthesis in a purple bacterium"
Gerhard Ertl	2007	* 1936	"for studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces"
Stefan Hell	2014	* 1962	"for the development of super-resolution fluorescence microscopy"
Joachim Frank	2017	* 1940	"for the development of Cryo-Electron Microscopy for high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules"
Benjamin List	2021	* 1968	"for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis to accelerate chemical reactions"

Nobel Prize in Physics

Name	Year	Lifespan	Achievements	Image
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen	1901	1845–1923	Discovery of X-Rays
Philipp Lenard	1905	1862–1947	Research in solid state and atomic physics
Ferdinand Braun	1909	1850–1918	Contribution to the development of wireless Telegraphy
Wilhelm Wien	1911	1864–1928	Research on Thermal Radiation
Max von Laue	1914	1879–1960	Diffraction of X-rays by crystals
Max Planck	1918	1858–1947	Discovery of the Planck constant
Johannes Stark	1919	1874–1957	Discovery of the optical Doppler Effect and the Stark Effect
Albert Einstein	1921	1879–1955	"for his contributions to theoretical physics, especially for his discovery of the law of the Photoelectric Effect"
James Franck	1925	1882–1964	Confirmation of the Bohr Atom Model
Gustav Hertz	1925	1887–1975	Confirmation of the Bohr Atom Model
Werner Heisenberg	1932	1901–1976	Founding of Quantum Mechanics
Max Born	1954	1882–1970	Fundamental research in quantum mechanics
Walther Bothe	1954	1891–1957	Development of the Coincidence Method
Rudolf Mößbauer	1961	1929–2011	Discovery of the Mößbauer Effect
J. Hans D. Jensen	1963	1907–1973	Development of the Shell Model of atomic nuclei
Maria Goeppert-Mayer	1963	1906–1972	Development of the Shell Model of atomic nuclei
Klaus von Klitzing	1985	* 1943	Discovery of the Quantized Hall Effect
Gerd Binnig	1986	* 1947	Development of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Ernst Ruska	1986	1906–1988	Invention of the Electron Microscope
Johannes Georg Bednorz	1987	* 1950	Discovery of ceramic High-Temperature Superconductors
Wolfgang Paul	1989	1913–1993	Development of the ion trap (Paul Trap)
Hans Georg Dehmelt	1989	1922–2017	Development of the Ion Trap
Horst Ludwig Störmer	1998	* 1949	"for the discovery of a new type of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations"
Herbert Kroemer	2000	1928–2024	Development of semiconductor heterostructures for high-speed and optoelectronics
Wolfgang Ketterle	2001	* 1957	Generation of the Bose-Einstein Condensate
Theodor W. Hänsch	2005	* 1941	Development of the Frequency Comb in connection with his other achievements
Peter Grünberg	2007	1939–2018	"for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR)"
Reinhard Genzel	2020	* 1952	"for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy"
Klaus Hasselmann	2021	* 1931	"for groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of complex physical systems", specifically "for discovering how the interplay of disorder and fluctuations determines physical systems from the atomic to the planetary level."

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Name	Year	Lifespan	Achievements	Image
Emil Behring	1901	1854–1907	Work on serum therapy
Robert Koch	1905	1843–1910	Discovery of the pathogens of anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera
Paul Ehrlich	1908	1854–1915	Foundation of immunology
Albrecht Kossel	1910	1853–1927	"in recognition of his contributions to the knowledge of cell chemistry through his work on proteins, including the nuclear substances"
Otto Fritz Meyerhof	1922	1884–1951	Research on metabolism in muscle
Otto Heinrich Warburg	1931	1883–1970	Research on respiratory ferment
Hans Spemann	1935	1869–1941	Discovery of the organizer effect and artificial cloning of organisms with Hilde Mangold
Otto Loewi	1936	1873–1961	"for discoveries in the chemical transmission of nerve impulses"
Gerhard Domagk	1939	1895–1964	Discovery of the antibacterial effects of the sulfonamide Prontosil
Ernst Boris Chain	1945	1906–1979	Discovery of Penicillin
Hans Adolf Krebs	1953	1900–1981	Discovery of the Citric Acid Cycle
Werner Forßmann	1956	1904–1979	"for discoveries on cardiac catheterization and pathological changes in the circulatory system"
Feodor Lynen	1964	1911–1979	Research on the regulation of cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism
Konrad Bloch	1964	1912–2000	Research on the regulation of cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism
Max Delbrück	1969	1906–1981	Foundation of modern molecular biology and genetics
Bernard Katz	1970	1911–2003	Work on the quantized form of synaptic transmission
Karl von Frisch	1973	1886–1982	"discoveries regarding the organization and triggering of individual and social behavior patterns"
Georges J. F. Köhler	1984	1946–1995	Research on the immune system and monoclonal antibodies
Erwin Neher	1991	* 1944	Discoveries on the function of individual ion channels in cells
Bert Sakmann	1991	* 1942	"for the development of a method for the direct detection of ion channels in cell membranes for the study of signal transmission within and between cells"
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard	1995	* 1942	Research on the genetic control of early embryonic development
Günter Blobel	1999	1936–2018	"for the discovery of signals embedded in proteins that control their transport and localization within the cell"
Harald zur Hausen	2008	1936–2023	Research on human papillomavirus
Thomas Südhof	2013	* 1955	Research on the transport system of cells

Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

Name	Year	Life Dates	Distinguished Contributions	Image
Reinhard Selten	1994	1930–2016	Research on game theory