Jaroslav Heyrovsky’s speech at the Nobel Banquet in Stockholm, December 10, 1959

Your Majesties, your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Having obtained the highest scientific distinction to be laureate of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 1959, I have the pleasant duty to thank most cordially to the Nobel Foundation and to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

I keep in grateful memory all those co-workers of mine, who helped me to work out my field of science with the mighty support of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

I was greatly surprised and deeply moved with the Czech allocution of Professor Ölander, who speaking fluently without paper expressed himself correctly in my mother tongue. I am sure that I convey the deep feelings of gratitude of all my countrymen in thanking for this great attention. We hope sincerely that it was not the last time, when Czech language sounded at the solemn occasion of the Nobel award.

My award is especially significant to my country as it is the first instance that the Nobel Prize is given to a Czechoslovak citizen. This caused a spontaneous enthusiastic joy as everybody was pleased to understand that the friendly feelings of the Swedish scientists manifested by this award will greatly support the co-operation of the Swedish and Czechoslovak scientific circles. This will no doubt lead to a closer understanding between the two systems ruling our countries with the aim of strengthening the international peace.