<P> The most Nobel Prizes awarded to women in a single year was in 2009, when five women became laureates . </P> <P> The most recent women to be awarded a Nobel Prize were Donna Strickland in Physics, Frances Arnold in Chemistry, and Nadia Murad for Peace (2018). </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Image </Th> <Th> Laureate </Th> <Th> Country </Th> <Th> </Th> <Th> Rationale </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1903 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Marie Skłodowska Curie (shared with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel) </Td> <Td> Poland and France </Td> <Td> Physics </Td> <Td> "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1905 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Bertha von Suttner </Td> <Td> Austria--Hungary </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> Honorary President of Permanent International Peace Bureau, Bern, Switzerland; Author of Lay Down Your Arms . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1909 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Selma Lagerlöf </Td> <Td> Sweden </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1911 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Marie Skłodowska Curie </Td> <Td> Poland and France </Td> <Td> Chemistry </Td> <Td> "for her discovery of radium and polonium" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1926 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Grazia Deledda </Td> <Td> Italy </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1928 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Sigrid Undset </Td> <Td> Norway </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1931 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Jane Addams (shared with Nicholas Murray Butler) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> Sociologist; International President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1935 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Irène Joliot - Curie (shared with Frédéric Joliot - Curie) </Td> <Td> France </Td> <Td> Chemistry </Td> <Td> "for their synthesis of new radioactive elements" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1938 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Pearl S. Buck </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1945 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Gabriela Mistral </Td> <Td> Chile </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1946 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Emily Greene Balch (shared with John Raleigh Mott) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> Formerly Professor of History and Sociology; Honorary International President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1947 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Gerty Theresa Cori (shared with Carl Ferdinand Cori and Bernardo Houssay) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1963 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Maria Goeppert - Mayer (shared with J. Hans D. Jensen and Eugene Wigner) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Physics </Td> <Td> "for their discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1964 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin </Td> <Td> United Kingdom </Td> <Td> Chemistry </Td> <Td> "for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1966 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Nelly Sachs (shared with Samuel Agnon) </Td> <Td> Sweden and Germany </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1976 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Betty Williams </Td> <Td> United Kingdom </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> Founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Mairead Maguire </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1977 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (shared with Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for the development of radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1979 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Mother Teresa </Td> <Td> India and Yugoslavia </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> Leader of Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1982 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Alva Myrdal (shared with Alfonso García Robles) </Td> <Td> Sweden </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> Former Cabinet Minister; Diplomat; Writer . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Barbara McClintock </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for her discovery of mobile genetic elements" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1986 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Rita Levi - Montalcini (shared with Stanley Cohen) </Td> <Td> Italy and United States </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for their discoveries of growth factors" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Gertrude B. Elion (shared with James W. Black and George H. Hitchings) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1991 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Nadine Gordimer </Td> <Td> South Africa </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Aung San Suu Kyi </Td> <Td> Burma </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Rigoberta Menchú </Td> <Td> Guatemala </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno - cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Toni Morrison </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1995 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Christiane Nüsslein - Volhard (shared with Edward B. Lewis and Eric F. Wieschaus) </Td> <Td> Germany </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wisława Szymborska </Td> <Td> Poland </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Jody Williams (shared with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2003 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Shirin Ebadi </Td> <Td> Iran </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "for her efforts for democracy and human rights . She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Elfriede Jelinek </Td> <Td> Austria </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wangari Maathai </Td> <Td> Kenya </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Linda B. Buck (shared with Richard Axel) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2007 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Doris Lessing </Td> <Td> United Kingdom </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2008 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Françoise Barré - Sinoussi (shared with Harald zur Hausen and Luc Montagnier) </Td> <Td> France </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for their discovery of HIV, human immunodeficiency virus" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2009 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Elizabeth Blackburn (shared with Jack W. Szostak) </Td> <Td> Australia and United States </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Carol W. Greider (shared with Jack W. Szostak) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Ada E. Yonath (shared with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz) </Td> <Td> Israel </Td> <Td> Chemistry </Td> <Td> "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Herta Müller </Td> <Td> Germany and Romania </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Elinor Ostrom (shared with Oliver E. Williamson) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Economics </Td> <Td> "for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2011 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Ellen Johnson Sirleaf </Td> <Td> Liberia </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "For their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace - building work" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Leymah Gbowee </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Tawakel Karman </Td> <Td> Yemen </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2013 </Td> <Td> <P> </P> </Td> <Td> Alice Munro </Td> <Td> Canada </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "master of the contemporary short story" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2014 </Td> <Td> <P> </P> </Td> <Td> May - Britt Moser (shared with Edvard Moser and John O'Keefe) </Td> <Td> Norway </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Malala Yousafzai (shared with Kailash Satyarthi) </Td> <Td> Pakistan and India </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education". </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2015 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Tu Youyou (shared with William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura) </Td> <Td> China </Td> <Td> Physiology or Medicine </Td> <Td> "for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Svetlana Alexievich </Td> <Td> Belarus </Td> <Td> Literature </Td> <Td> "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2018 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Donna Strickland (shared with Gérard Mourou and Arthur Ashkin) </Td> <Td> Canada </Td> <Td> Physics </Td> <Td> "for their method of generating high - intensity, ultra-short optical pulses" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Frances Arnold (shared with Gregory Winter and George Smith) </Td> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> Chemistry </Td> <Td> "for the directed evolution of enzymes" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Nadia Murad (shared with Denis Mukwege) </Td> <Td> Iraq </Td> <Td> Peace </Td> <Td> "for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict" </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Image </Th> <Th> Laureate </Th> <Th> Country </Th> <Th> </Th> <Th> Rationale </Th> </Tr>

Who was the first american woman to win a nobel prize