Who was Alfred Nobel?Alfred Nobel was a Swedish inventor and scientist, who invented the dynamite in the middle of the 19th century. He was born in 1833 in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm. When he was nine years old, in 1842, he and his family went to St. Petersburg, where his father, Immanuel, got a job as a submarine- and mineconstructor for the Russian government. In Russia there were no Swedish schools, so Alfred and his two older brothers, Robert and Ludvig, was taught by Russian tutors. Alfred and his brothers received great education. Robert and Ludvig studied to be engineers and Alfred became a chemist. During the education Alfred learned a lot of languages. When he was 17 years old he could speak five different languages; Russian, French, German, Swedish and English. He was also interested in literature and poetry. At the age of 63 Alfred started to write a drama; "Nemesis" and just before his death he decided to publish it. Dynamite and Nitroglycerin
In 1846 a famous chemist, Sobrero, discovered the yellow material nitroglycerin. The material is used in medicine but also when Alfred Nobel discovered dynamite in 1873.
Because of the great danger of explosion, Alfred wanted to find a way to make the dynamite safe and useful. He was successful when he mixed the nitroglycerin with the earth material kieselguhr.
The fantastic discoveryIn 1873 Alfred moved to France and bought a magnificent house in Malakoff Avenue in Paris. On the backside of the house Nobel built laboratory. Thanks to the dynamite Alfred had a big fortune, but he wasn't satisfied. The dynamite had a lot of weaknessis. For example, it couldn't stand damp and it couldn't be compared with clean nitroglycerin. At many places the liquid explosive oil retained it's place. In some Swedish mines the mountains were so hard that the dynamite couldn't come through. Nobel worked hard on a solution and tried to find an explosive material that united the nitroglycerin's power with the dynamite's saftey. Alfred didn't come to a solution in his laboratory. It was yet to be found. How did it go?During work in his laboratory he cut himself in a finger. To heal the wound he had to put on some collodium that gives a covering over the cut. (It was a usual method when taking care of wounds). In the middle of the night Alfred woke up by the pain in the finger. The coat had come loose. He went down and put on some more collodium and started to figure out the chemical composition of collodium. A significant break-through was made. The passive component in dynamite (kieselguhr) was replaced by guncotton. The explosive material got the name Nobel's extra dynamite and it became a big success all over the world. The prize is 950 000 ecu
A year before Alfred Nobel died on November 27, 1895 he signed the famous will which would implement, some of the goals to which he had devoted so much of his life. Nobel confirmed in his will that most of his estate, worth more than 3.9 million ecu (today approximately 187 000 ecu) should be converted into a fund and invested in "safe securities". The income from the investments was to be "distributed yearly in the form of prizes to those who during the previous year have conferred the greatest distribution on mankind".
From 1901, when the first prizes were awarded, the receivers of the prize got 18750 ecu each. The real value of the prize amount in ecu terms was finally restored in 1991. The Nobel Prize of 1998 is 950 000 ecu, an increase of 1,3 % compared to the 1997 prizes. The investment capital at market value as per December 31, 1997 amounted to 359 000 ecu. The Nobel Foundation is a private institution formed in 1900 on the basis of the will of Alfred Nobel. The Foundation is entrusted with protecting the common interests of the prize-awarding. The Foundation is represented by a board, which has its seat in Stockholm and consists of seven members and two deputies, Swedish or Norwegian citizens, who are elected by the trustees of the prize-awarding bodies. One central task of the Foundation is to manage the assets made available through the will for awarding prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. José Saramago - 1998 award winner in literature
Saramago was born in 1922 in Portugal. Before he became a writer he had worked as a social
worker, engineering worker and at a publishing house. He had also worked as a cooperator
at several Portuguese newspapers, among other things as an editor in chief at the Diário de notícias. For five years he worked as a translator.
When he was 25 years old he published his first novel. After 20 years of silence he took up his writing again. Saramago has written dramas, lyrics, essays and above all novels. Some of his books have been published in Swedish, for example "Baltasar och Blimunda", "Historien om Lissabons belägring" and "Blindheten". Today José Saramago counts as one of the most important names of world literature . His books are translated into 25 different languages. He has received several rewards and now also the Nobel prize. This years award winners of the Nobel PrizeChemistry - John A. People (Northwestern University, USA) Walter Kohn (University of California, USA) Physics - Robert B. Laughlin (Stanford University, USA) Horst L. Störmer (Columbia University, USA) Daniel C. Tsui (Princeton University, USA) Economics - Amartya Sen (Trinity College, U.K) Peace - John Hume David Trimble Literature - José Saramago Medicine Philosophy - Robert F. Furchgott (University of North Carolina and Northw. Univ. USA) Louis J Ignarro (Columbia University and University of Minnesota, USA) Ferid Muradd (Western Reserve University, USA) The Nobel banquet has made Sweden known all over the world. It's a very glamorous celebration so it's just special people (for example the King, the Queen and almost all the ministers.) who can come there. So keep on working! Maybe some day you will be the lucky one who takes home a Nobel prize. The Nobel homepage  © 1998 Freeway Writers: Helena Pettersson (sp00-21@park.se), Sara Häggqvist (sp00-09@park.se) and Linda Jogedal (sp00-11@park.se). HTML by: Mats Lundberg (nv00-98@park.se). |
The Nobel Banquet is one of the most magnificent Banquets that you can imagine. The King, the Queen, most of our ministers and lots of other people take part in the Banquet. It's held in the Swedish Town Hall in Stockholm every year the 10th of December. The Nobel Banquet is very famous. There are beautifully laid tables, and they serve fantastic food, often Swedish specialities. Over 1000 people visit the Nobel Banquet every year, but during the last few years the number is reduced. Only people who are invited can take part in this Banquet.