between Krümmel and Hamburg, where the family’s offices were located. During World War I Krümmel, with 2,700 employees, supplied the German army’s gunpowder needs. The Versailles Treaty put an end to this contract, however, and during peace the factory was used to produce artificial silk. With the arrival of World War II, Krümmel was once again at the service of the German war interests, with more than 9,000 workers. The facilities were destroyed in 1945 by an Allied air raid, with bombs based on the inventions of Nobel himself.
Dynamite was, without a doubt, Alfred Nobel’s most famous invention, but the list of his other accomplishments is long. In 1887 he created ballistite; known as smokeless gunpowder, this compound is made of 40 percent nitrocellulose and 60 percent nitroglycerin. The explosive was originally intended for the mining industry, but its appearance coincided with a tumultuous period at the end of the 19th century, when governments were scrambling to acquire new military technology. When the patent was made public, Alfred Nobel offered his product to the French government, but they turned the proposal down. When he offered ballistite to the Italians, however, they did not hesitate in accepting, and a large production facility was built near Turin.
Through more than 30 productive years of experimentation and developments carried out in Sweden, Germany, France, Italy and other nations around the world, Alfred Nobel never stopped applying himself to the tasks he undertook, whether it was to produce artificial silk or the most powerful explosives of the day. When he died he had put his name to no less than 355 patents, many of them now applicable to the fabrics industry and used in more than 20 countries.
Although just before his 30th birthday Alfred Nobel decided to rejoin his parents in Stockholm, the city had not been his primary residence for some time. Until the end of his days at the age of 63, Alfred Nobel was a constant pilgrim. He kept a house, ready to be lived in, in six different countries. “My home is where I am found working,” he wrote, “and I work anywhere.” He also kept completely equipped laboratories in Stockholm and Karlskoga (Sweden), Hamburg (Germany), Ardeer (Scotland), Paris and Sevran (France) and San Remo (Italy).
Alfred Nobel lived and died as one of the earliest citizens of the world, and this lifestyle was a deeply interwoven part of his personality. He can be considered one of the founding fathers of multinational corporations. Many of the companies he founded still exist today and are at the forefront of their industrial field, including companies like Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), Société Centrale de Dynamite and Dyno Industries.
Alfred Nobel’s Will
When he reached the age of 60, Alfred Nobel began to make arrangements for his vast fortune after his death. He wrote his will himself, without any legal assistance, and signed it on November 27, 1895, in a room of the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, witnessed by four friends.
Nobel gave part of his inheritance to his nieces, nephews and closest collaborators, and he left lifelong pensions to his most dedicated employees, but the amounts he bequeathed to these individuals were smaller than expected (considering the size of his fortune) and criticized by many.
The excerpt from the will below deals exclusively with establishing the annual prizes.
The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way: The capital shall be invested by my executors in safe securities and shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or best work for the fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses. The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiology or medical work by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm; and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, so that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be a Scandinavian or not.
Nobel finished his will with a list of his assets, including his properties in Paris and San Remo, an endless list of activities in banks and other credit institutions, and the income from his patents, whose registers he stated were guarded in his safe. The immense fortune was calculated at the time to be worth about 31 million Swedish Krona, and interest with careful management by the Foundation has been swelling the coffers for more than a century.
The Prize
The idea of creating prizes to award individual artists and scientists for their efforts is rooted in the French Revolution. Throughout the 19th century there were plenty of awards given to academies, clubs and administrations, but it wasn’t until the second half of the century that private foundations began to bestow their own prizes.
What is it, however, that makes the Nobel Prize different from others and grants it the recognition and support it has today? First of all, as is very clear in Alfred Nobel’s will and contrary to other contemporary examples, it is a universal award, and there was no intention of benefiting a specific nation. Also to be noted is that Nobel did not create one prize but five (the sixth, for Economic Sciences, was only created in 1968.) The recognition offered by the prizes is, therefore, more complete, bringing together a diverse group of talents from fields that usually have little interaction. The most important point that distinguished the Nobel Prize from other awards, however, was the large sum given to the laureates. In addition to the prize money, a diploma and medal were also presented, which was not specified in Nobel’s will.
Although there is great importance in a scientist, writer or pacifist seeing their work published in consequence of being given an award, the Nobel means much more. For the first time there existed a prize with which scientists could continue their investigations without traditional economic limitations, writers could avoid commercial temptations and follow their more creative desires, and pacifists could, against powerful forces, maintain campaigns that could only be kept alive with financial support.
The first people to receive the Nobel Prize took home approximately 150,000 Swedish Krona. In 1923, as a result of an increase in taxes, smaller quantities were awarded, and each laureate received 115,000 Swedish Krona. In 1946 the Nobel Foundation was finally guaranteed an exemption from taxes, which led to the prizes increasing in worth. In 2006 each of the six laureates was given the highest amounts ever: 10 million Swedish Krona, equivalent to about US$1 million.
On December 10th of every year, to coincide with the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, the award ceremonies for five of the six Nobel prizes are held in Stockholm, Sweden; the exception is the Nobel Peace Prize, which is presented in Oslo, Norway. The laureates present Nobel lectures several days before the ceremonies in Stockholm and on the day of the event in Oslo. These ceremonies are attended by Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden and Norway, respectively, in addition to the laureates, their families and other distinguished guests. Lavish banquets follow the event.
The honors are conferred in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace and economics, unless no laureate has been chosen in a given field. As with almost any event, the work that takes place beforehand is of vital importance. The selection process for the people, or institutions, as is sometimes the case with the Nobel
