Nobel Prize- Nobel prize are prizes that have 6 different categories which according to Alfred Nobel’s Will of 1895 are awarded to those who, “during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
Alfred Nobel was born on 21 October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden, Son of Immanuel and Caroline Nobel. Immanuel was an Engineer and Inventor who was married to Caroline Andrietta Ahlsell in 1827, the couple had 8 children from which only Alfred and 3 others reached adulthood. Alfred was also prone to disease hence he enjoyed a close relationship with his mother.
Alfred has always been interested in explosives which made him develop a sense of curiosity from an early age , he also got learnings about fundamentals of engineering from his father. On the other hand, his father Immanuel was failing miserably at various business ventures until they moved to St. Petersburg in Russia where he prospered as the manufacturer of explosive mines and machine tools. In St. Petersburg as the new prospered business owner, Alfred was sent to private tutors for best education where he turned out to be an eager pupil. He was a proficient chemist by the age of 16. He was fluent in English, French, German, Russian and Swedish.Later, Alfred went to Paris to study chemistry and then to spend time in the US working under the guidance of John Ericsson, the builder of the ironclad warship Monitor.
Alfred shortly after started working in his father’s factory which made Military equipment during the Crimean War.
When the war ended in 1856, Immanuel switched to making Steamboat Machinery which didn’t work out well resulting in them going bankrupt in 1859.The family then returned back to Sweden leaving two brothers of Alfred to settle the rest of the business.
In the meantime Alfred started experimenting in his father’s factory with black powder which is a form of gunpowder. A newly discovered liquid compound “Nitroglycerine” which was a much more powerful explosive. Nitroglycerine was so powerful and unstable that it couldn’t be handled at any degree of safety.In 1863, Alfred invented a detonator which held the explosive in a metal container to handle the nitroglycerine from any further destruction.
This invention marked Nobel’s reputation as an Inventor.
However, nitroglycerine as an individual was still a task to conquer, it was still so dangerous to handle that in 1864, his factory blew up which led to the death of his younger brother, Emil and several other people working in the factory.But he still continued to build other factories ,where the accidental explosions still continued.
In 1865, Al Invented a detonator called “Blasting cap”, which inaugurated the modern use of high explosives for better use.The most important invention of Nobel, that made him a famous man from Sweden was the invention of “Dynamite” in 1867.
With the growing need and use of Dynamite in wars he granted patent for it in The Great Britain in the year 1867 and to the United States (US) in the year 1868. Dynamite in no time, established a huge fame and was used in various things like, blasting tunnels, cutting canals, building railways and roads.In 1870’s and 1980s, Nobel built a network of factories through Europe to manufacture Dynamite on a large scale.
In 1875, Alfred invented an even more powerful form of Dynamite called “Blasting Gelatin”. Later in the year 1877, he also discovered “Ballistite”.Besides explosives, he also discovered artificial silk, and even leather. Nobel never married and apparently preferred the joys of inventing. He also has an abiding interest in literature and wrote plays, novels and poems which were never published. He led a retired and simple life.
In 1895, he developed a rare disease of angina pectoris and later died of cerebral hemorrhage in 1896. After his death, his will was opened, which he had drawn in Paris on November 27, 1895. His will held a special surprise for his friends, family and people around the world.
He had been so generous in humanitarian and scientific philanthropies . He left a bulk of his fortune in trust to establish what became to be most highly regarded as international awards “The Nobel Prize”. December 10th every year is celebrated as the Nobel Prize Day in the memory of Alfred Bernhard Nobel .
The categories for Nobel prize is as follows-
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Literature
- Medicine
- Peace
- Economic science
The first Nobel prize winners was observed in the year 1901.
The first Nobel laureate winners were-
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, received first Nobel prize in Physics.
Jacobus H. van ‘t Hoff, received the first Nobel prize in Chemistry.
Emil von Behring, received the first Nobel prize in Medicines.
Frédéric Passy and Henry Dunant, received the first Nobel prize in Peace.