Important Trivia About Nobel Prize

• Alfred Nobel (1833 –1896) was a lonely millionaire who, despite his enormous wealth, was unhappy, deeply melancholic and left some heart touching love stories behind him.
• In 1847, when he was working with Théophile-Jules Pelouze at University of Turin , his co-worker Ascanio Sobrero had synthesized Nitroglycerine. Nitroglycerine was by then the most practical explosive stronger than black Powder. They called it Pyroglycerine because it was too explosive and cannot be handled.
• After a few years, Alfred experimented for safer handling of the Nitroglycerine and these experiments led to some explosions which claimed life of his younger brother and some workers.
• These dangerous experiments led to development of a liquid combination of nitro-glycerine and gunpowder. Alfred called it “Blasting Oil” and obtained patent on it. But soon, Nitroglycerine was banned.
• Later, using Diatom earth (Diatomite), which works as an excellent absorbent, Alfred developed “Dynamite”. The term Dynamite derived from a Greek term “Dynamis” which means Power. This discovery led his father to win an award from Royal Swedish Academy.
• Alfred also remained owner of Bofors company from 1894 till his death in 1896.

How Nobel Prize was set up?

• In 1888, one of the brothers of Alfred had died. A French newspaper by mistake published an obituary of Alfred Nobel instead and described it as “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”
• This was a turning point. He had written his wills many a times earlier, but this time, he wrote a will and gave away his fortune for awards. The will of Alfred Nobel instituted the award in 1895, but the Nobel Foundation was established as a private organization in 1900. He was a Swedish but the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by Norwegian Nobel Committee and NOT a Swedish Organization.

In how many disciplines, the Nobel Prize is given currently?

• The awards are currently given for Chemistry, Economic Sciences, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine.

Which Nobel prize was not included in original awards?

• Award in Economic Sciences was not included in the original awards. This award was established in 1968 as “Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel” by Sveriges Riksbank in 1968.

At what location and by whom Nobel Prizes are given?

• The prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, except for the peace prize which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. The Swedish Academy grants the Nobel Prize in Literature, while Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  The Government of Sweden has no control over the Awards. Prize Money depends upon the Income of the Nobel Foundation for that year.  Nobel Prize cannot be shared among more than 3 people.

Is Nobel Prize awarded posthumously?

• No. Prizes are NOT awarded posthumously, unless the awarded has died after announcement.

Who were winners of First Nobel Prize?

• The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901 in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
• First Nobel Peace Prize winner Frédéric Passy was  co-founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, he shared the prize with Henry Dunant who founded the International Committee of the Red Cross  in 1863.
• First Nobel  Prize in Physics was given to Wilhelm Röntgen, who discovered the X-Rays.
• The first laureates for the Economics Prize were Jan Tinbergen and Ragnar Frisch “for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes.
• Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff was the first winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on chemical kinetics.
• Emil Adolf von Behring was the first winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology for developing a serum therapy against diphtheria and tetanus.
• Sully Prudhomme of France won the first literature prize.