Young Alfred Nobel

Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Immanuel and Andrietta Ahlsell Nobel. He was often sick as a child and had to be attended to almost constantly by his mother. He attended St. Jakob's School in Stockholm in 1841 and 1842, but then the family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where Nobel's father, a chemist and inventor, had established an engineering and weapons company. Nobel and his brothers received private tutoring from 1843 to 1850. In 1850 Nobel set out on a two-year tour of western Europe and the United States, learning different languages and seeking ideas and contacts in engineering. Russia's involvement in the Crimean War (1853–56) led to great profits for Nobel's father's company.

Quick facts

Name

  • Alfred Nobel

    • BIRTH DATE

  • October 21, 1833

    • PLACE OF BIRTH

  • Stockholm, Sweden

    • A.K.A

  • Alfred Nobel

    • FULL NAME

  • Alfred Bernhard Nobel

    • Invention

    Dynamite, Gelignite, and Ballistite

    Nobel found that when nitroglycerin was incorporated in an absorbent inert substance like kieselguhr (diatomaceous earth) it became safer and more convenient to handle, and this mixture he patented in 1867 as "dynamite".Nobel demonstrated his explosive for the first time that year, at a quarry in Redhill, Surrey, England. In order to help reestablish his name and improve the image of his business from the earlier controversies associated with the dangerous explosives, Nobel had also considered naming the highly powerful substance "Nobel's Safety Powder", but settled with Dynamite instead, referring to the Greek word for "power". Nobel later combined nitroglycerin with various nitrocellulose compounds, similar to collodion, but settled on a more efficient recipe combining another nitrate explosive, and obtained a transparent, jelly-like substance, which was a more powerful explosive than dynamite. 'Gelignite', or blasting gelatine, as it was named, was patented in 1876; and was followed by a host of similar combinations, modified by the addition of potassium nitrate and various other substances.Gelignite was more stable, transportable and conveniently formed to fit into bored holes, like those used in drilling and mining, than the previously used compounds and was adopted as the standard technology for mining in the Age of Engineering bringing Nobel a great amount of financial success, though at a significant cost to his health. An offshoot of this research resulted in Nobel's invention of ballistite, the precursor of many modern smokeless powder explosives and still used as a rocket propellant.

    Nobel Prize & Its History

    Nobel instructed in 1895 that most of his fortune be set aside as a fund for the awarding of five annual prizes “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” These prizes as established by his will are the Nobel Prize for Physics , the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the Nobel Prize for Peace. The first distribution of the prizes took place on December 10, 1901, the fifth anniversary of Nobel’s death. An additional award, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was established in 1968 by the Bank of Sweden and was first awarded in 1969. Although not technically a Nobel Prize, it is identified with the award; its winners are announced with the Nobel Prize recipients, and the Prize in Economic Sciences is presented at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony.

    The Nobel Prize

    The obverse side of the Nobel Prize medals

    Death

    He died of a stroke on December 10, 1896, in San Remo, Italy. After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel left 31,225,000 Swedish kronor (equivalent to 250 million U.S. dollars in 2008)
    to fund the Nobel Prizes.