The Story and Origins Of The Nobel Prize

The creator of the Nobel prize is attributed to Alfred Nobel. The first time the Nobel Prize was awarded was in 1901, in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace. Alfred Nobel was born in the year 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden. Alfred’s father, Immanuel Nobel, was an engineer, businessman, and inventor.

Immanuel Nobel built bridges and buildings for which he had to blast rocks and other materials. Alfred’s mother, Andriette Nobel, had a grocery store that supported the family’s income when they were undergoing financial troubles. Immanuel set up his business in Russia and became profitable in the coming years. In 1842, the family decided to move to St. Petersburg, Russia. Alfred had three siblings and all four received their basic education over there.

For his further education, Immanuel decided to send Alfred abroad and become a chemical engineer. Alfred moved to Paris where he worked in the laboratory of T.J. Pelouze and met an Italian Chemist, Ascanio Sobrero. Sobrero is credited with the invention of nitroglycerine which is a highly explosive liquid. Alfred after returning to Russia decided to develop a less explosive version of nitroglycerine which can be used for construction work.

In the year 1863, Alfred and his family decided to move back to Sweden. Over there he worked with his father on the stable version of nitroglycerine and performed various experiments. But sadly, many of these experiments led to several people being killed, including his brother Emil. This resulted in Alfred shifting his laboratory and experiments onto a flat bottom boat on Lake Malaren which was away from the city and wouldn’t affect or disturb other people.

Alfred went on to mix nitroglycerine with fine sand and shape the mixture into rods. These rods were explosive and can be inserted into holes. In 1866, Alfred patented this material and named it ‘Dynamite’. He went on to start the mass production of dynamite across Europe.

Alfred had written in his will to establish the Nobel Prize, which would be awarded to those people or organizations who would promote peace and do their best for humanity. These prizes would be given in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace. The prize money would be given from his fortune to all those who win these prizes. Since then, the Nobel Prize is given to people or organizations who have done a great deal for humanity and also promoting peace and harmony.