The history of the fertilizer nitrogen (N) is important, because it includes two very important events in the development of chemistry. The synthesis of ammonia is considered as one of the greatest scientific discovery of twentieth century which led to the award of two Nobel Prizes in Chemistry to two German chemists; Fitzgerald Haber in 1919 and Carl Bosch in 1931. A significant increase in food production in the world is ascribed to the fertilizer N that saved many from hunger, misery and mortality, especially in Asian countries, where population growth has been too fast. However, the fertilizer N has also been responsible for environmental degradation, by increasing nitrate (NO₃) content in ground waters, inland waters including lakes and rivers and marine waters leading to mortality of fish and other water creatures. Some N is lost as nitrous oxide (N₂O), which is responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer in the earth’s atmosphere. Efforts are therefore underway to develop more efficient N fertilizers.

肥料氮 (N) 的历史很重要，因为它包括化学发展中的两个非常重要的事件。氨的合成被认为是 20 世纪最伟大的科学发现之一，导致两位德国化学家获得了两项诺贝尔化学奖；Fitzgerald Haber 于 1919 年，Carl Bosch 于 1931 年。世界粮食产量的显着增加归功于氮肥，使许多人免于饥饿、苦难和死亡，尤其是在人口增长过快的亚洲国家。然而，肥料 N 也通过增加硝酸盐（NO ₃) 地下水、包括湖泊和河流在内的内陆水域以及导致鱼类和其他水生生物死亡的海水中的含量。一些 N 会以一氧化二氮 (N ₂ O) 的形式流失，它是造成地球大气中臭氧层消耗的原因。因此，正在努力开发更有效的氮肥。