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The History of the Nobel Prizes

The History of the Nobel Prizes thumbnail
The Nobel Peace Prize Center in Oslo

In the words of their founder, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, Nobel Prizes are given once a year to people "who during the preceding year shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."

  1. History

    • Alfred Nobel was a prolific inventor, acquiring some 355 patents in his lifetime, including one for the invention of dynamite. When he died in 1896 at the age of 63, executors of his will found that he had created a series of prizes that he intended to finance with the interest he would earn on his fortune. The prizes were to be awarded in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. An award for economics was added in 1968.

    Details

    • Each award is governed by different institutions and academies, mostly Swedish, who form an assembly to vote on who will be awarded the prize each year. Victors of the awards win not only international stature and celebrity, but also a substantial cash award.

    Controversy

    • Some Nobel Prizes, most notably those for literature and peace, have been met with controversy. The peace prize awarded to Henry Kissinger in 1973 caused a stir because of his involvement in Cambodia. Yasser Arafat's was criticized because of his violent past; Barack Obama's, because of his inexperience. Jean-Paul Sartre, the famous French existentialist philosopher, rejected his prize for literature outright in 1964 because of his policy of not accepting public honors.

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  • Photo Credit Nobel Peace Prize Center Oslo image by Zeno Mateescu from Fotolia.com

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