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data-bgset="https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52981-hero-tablet-2x.jpg [(min-width: 220px)] | https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52981-hero-tablet-2x.jpg [(min-width: 900px)] | https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52981-hero-desktop-2x.jpg [(min-width: 1400px)]" data-sizes="auto"> </div> <noscript> <div class="bg hero" style="background: url(https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52981-content-landscape-desktop.jpg)"> </div> </noscript> <div class="figcaption"> <p class="figcaption__caption"> A painting by Swedish artist Emil Österman depicting the founder of the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel. </p> <p class="figcaption__attribution"> © Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud </p> </div> <h1 class="title text-uppercase"> The man behind the prize - Alfred Nobel </h1> </section> <section class="nomination-intro"> <article class="content"> <header class="sub-section-header border-top"> <h4> For the greatest benefit to humankind </h4> </header> <div class="text"> <p>Alfred Nobel was an inventor, entrepreneur, scientist and businessman who also wrote poetry and drama. His varied interests are reflected in the prize he established and which he lay the foundation for in 1895 when he wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth to the establishment of the prize.</p> <p>Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from around the world for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for work in peace.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/">Find out more about Alfred’s life</a></p> </div> </article> <aside class="quick-facts"> <header class="sub-section-header border-top"> <h4> Quick facts </h4> </header> <ul class="factlist"> <li>Born: 21 October 1833</li> <li>Died: 10 December 1896</li> <li>Known for: inventing dynamite and holder of 355 patents</li> <li>Professions: chemist, inventor, engineer, entrepreneur, businessman, author</li> <li>Will: left 31 million SEK (about 265 million dollar today) to fund the prizes</li> </ul> </aside> </section> <section class="article-grid var-half-width-a"> <article itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" class="article -halfwidth-a"> <div class="content-wrapper"> <header class="content"> <div class="title"> <h2 class="headline h1" itemprop="headline"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-will/"> The last will and testament </a> </h2> </div> </header> <div class="text"> <p>Alfred Nobel signed his last will in Paris on November 27, 1895. He specified that the bulk of his fortune should be divided into five parts and to be used for prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”</p> <p>Read more about the will.</p> </div> </div> <figure class="featuredimage"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-will/"><picture><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53081-landscape-medium-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 220px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53081-landscape-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 900px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53081-landscape-x-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 1400px)"/><img class="lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="Alfred Nobel will (2)"/><noscript><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53081-landscape-x-large.jpg" alt="Alfred Nobel will (2)"/></noscript></picture></a><figcaption class="figcaption"><p class="figcaption__caption">The will of Alfred Nobel. </p> <p class="figcaption__attribution">© Nobel Media AB 2018. 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In the same year, his father, Immanuel Nobel, goes bankrupt.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1838</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Immanuel Nobel arrives in St Petersburg, Russia, where he starts a mechanical workshop; he leaves his family behind in Sweden. He lands a contract with a Russian general, who is interested in the Swedish inventor’s designs for sea and land mines. His business flourishes and evolves to a large mechanical engineering company.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1842</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>The Nobel family is reunited in St Petersburg, Russia.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1850 - 1852</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>At the age of 17, Alfred Nobel speaks five languages fluently. He travels to Paris and works for one year in the laboratory of T. Jules Pelouze. He also travels to Italy, Germany and the United States (US).</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1853-1856</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Immanuel Nobel’s company goes bankrupt as the Crimean War ends and the Russian military cancel orders. Alfred Nobel searches desperately for new products. Nikolai N. Zinin, Nobel’s chemistry teacher, reminds him of nitroglycerin.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1862</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel starts his experiments with nitroglycerin.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1863</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel moves back to Stockholm and obtains the first patent on nitroglycerin (blasting oil) as an industrial explosive.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1864</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel patents a detonator (blasting cap) for triggering the explosion of nitroglycerin and forms the company Nitroglycerin AB. Emil, Alfred Nobel’s brother, is killed during the preparation of nitroglycerin at Heleneborg, Stockholm.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1865</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel improves the blasting cap design and moves to Germany to set up the Alfred Nobel & Co Factory in Krümmel near Hamburg.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1866</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>A violent explosion destroys the Krümmel plant in Germany. Experimenting on a raft anchored on the river Elbe, Alfred Nobel tries to make nitroglycerin safer to handle. He finds that nitroglycerin is stabilized by the addition of kieselguhr (a siliceous deposit; also known as diatomaceous earth), and calls this mixture dynamite. (From greek dynamis meaning ”power”).</p> <p> </p> <p>He also establishes the United States Blasting Oil Company in the US.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1867</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel obtains a patent for dynamite in Sweden.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1871</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel establishes the British Dynamite Company (Ardeer, Scotland, UK). In 1877 the company name is changed to Nobel’s Explosives Company.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1872</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Immanuel, Alfred Nobel’s father, passes away.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1873</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>At the age of 40 Alfred Nobel is a wealthy man. He moves to Paris and settles at Avenue Malakoff.</p> <p> </p> <p>The manufacture of nitroglycerin and dynamite starts at Ardeer, Scotland, UK.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1875</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel invents blasting gelatine in Paris and establishes Société Générale pour la Fabrication de la Dynamite in Paris.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1876</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel obtains a patent on blasting gelatine.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dynamitaktiengesellschaft (DAG), formerly Alfred Nobel & Co (Hamburg, Germany), is formed.</p> <p> </p> <p>Alfred Nobel advertises for a housekeeper/personal secretary, meets with Bertha Kinsky von Chinic und Tettau (later von Suttner) and hires her. She leaves his employment after a short time and becomes a leading peace activist.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1880</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Dynamite Nobel is formed by merging Nobel’s Italian and Swiss companies.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1881</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel buys an estate and laboratory at Sevran outside Paris.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1885</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>German Union is formed by merging Dynamitaktiengesellschaft (DAG) and a group of German dynamite companies.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1886</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Nobel-Dynamite Trust Co (London, UK) is formed by merging Dynamitaktiengesellschaft (DAG) and the Nobel’s Explosives Company.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1887</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Nobel obtains a patent for the blasting powder “ballistite” in France.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1889</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Andriette, Alfred Nobel’s mother, passes away.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1891</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel leaves Paris and settles in San Remo, Italy, after a dispute with the French government over ballistite.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1893</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel hires the young engineer Ragnar Sohlman, who he later names executor of his will and testament.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1894</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel buys a small machine works (Bofors-Gullspång) and a manor (Björkborn) at Karlskoga, Sweden.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1895</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>The third and final will of Alfred Nobel is signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1896</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>Alfred Nobel dies, at the age of 63, in his home in San Remo, Italy, on 10 December 1896.</p> </div> </li> <li data-event=""> <time>1901</time> <div class="date-event"> <p>The first Nobel Prizes are awarded on 10 December.</p> </div> </li> </ol> <footer> <button id="changeView">View timeline as a list</button> <footer> </section> <section class="opinion-stage"> <script type="text/javascript"> (function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], r = Math.floor(new Date().getTime() / 1000000); if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.async=1; js.src = "https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138/https://www.opinionstage.com/assets/loader.js?" + r; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'os-widget-jssdk')); </script> <div class="os_widget" data-comments="false" data-path="/nobel/the-alfred-nobel-quiz"></div> </section> <section class="article-grid var-one-third"> <header class="section-header border-top"> <h3>Alfred Nobel's work</h3> </header> <article itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" class="article -one-third"> <div class="content-wrapper"> <header class="content"> <div class="title"> <h2 class="headline h3" itemprop="headline"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/lundstrom/"> Inventing dynamite </a> </h2> </div> </header> <div class="text"> <p>Based on Alfred’s work and patents a whole new industry developed. Within ten years, 16 explosives producing factories had been founded in 14 countries with Nobel as shareholder or co-owner.</p> </div> </div> <figure class="featuredimage"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/lundstrom/"><picture><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52379-landscape-medium-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 220px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52379-landscape-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 900px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52379-landscape-x-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 1400px)"/><img class="lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="Nobels Dynamite 10 Nov 1906"/><noscript><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/52379-landscape-x-large.jpg" alt="Nobels Dynamite 10 Nov 1906"/></noscript></picture></a><figcaption class="figcaption"><p class="figcaption__caption">Alfred Nobel's dynamite, 1856. </p> <p class="figcaption__attribution">Photo: Public domain. </p></figcaption> </figure> </article> <article itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" class="article -one-third"> <div class="content-wrapper"> <header class="content"> <div class="title"> <h2 class="headline h3" itemprop="headline"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/erlandsson/"> Interest in literature </a> </h2> </div> </header> <div class="text"> <p>Alfred Nobel also had a big interest in literature and writing. He left behind a private library at Björkborn with over 1,500 volumes, among those works by many great writers of the 19th century.</p> </div> </div> <figure class="featuredimage"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/erlandsson/"><picture><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53320-landscape-medium-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 220px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53320-landscape-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 900px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53320-landscape-x-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 1400px)"/><img class="lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="Alfred Nobel 1853"/><noscript><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/53320-landscape-x-large.jpg" alt="Alfred Nobel 1853"/></noscript></picture></a><figcaption class="figcaption"><p class="figcaption__caption">A young Alfred Nobel, 1853. </p> <p class="figcaption__attribution">Photo: Provided by Nobel Foundation. </p></figcaption> </figure> </article> <article itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" class="article -one-third"> <div class="content-wrapper"> <header class="content"> <div class="title"> <h2 class="headline h3" itemprop="headline"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/patents.html"> A long list of inventions </a> </h2> </div> </header> <div class="text"> <p>Alfred invented dynamite and experimented in making synthetic rubber, leather and artificial silk among many other things. During his lifetime he acquired 355 patents worldwide.</p> </div> </div> <figure class="featuredimage"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/patents.html"><picture><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/8053-landscape-medium-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 220px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/8053-landscape-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 900px)"/><source data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/8053-landscape-x-large-2x.jpg" media="(min-width: 1400px)"/><img class="lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="German Patent"/><noscript><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138im_/https://www.nobelprize.org/images/8053-landscape-x-large.jpg" alt="German Patent"/></noscript></picture></a><figcaption class="figcaption"><p class="figcaption__caption">A German patent Alfred Nobel acquired. </p> <p class="figcaption__attribution">Photo: Public domain. </p></figcaption> </figure> </article> </section> <section class="newsletter-signup"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="blurb"> <h3>Sign up to our newsletter</h3> <p><p>Join thousands of global subscribers enjoying the free monthly Nobel Prize highlights, trivia and up-to-date information.</p> </p> </div> <form action="https://web.archive.org/web/20200822164138/https://app.rule.io/widget/subscriber" method="POST"> <label for="newsletteremail" class="screen-reader-text"> Your e-mail address </label> <input name="rule_email" id="newsletteremail" placeholder="Your e-mail address" required type="email"> <input type="hidden" name="tags[]" value="25327"> <input type="hidden" name="token" value="0b7e81c2-36b72d5-bb09466-94f58a6-a5535bb-c51"> <input type="hidden" name="language" value="en"> <label for="email_field" class="newsletter-email-field"> Check this box if you are a robot. </label> <input type="checkbox" id="email_field" name="email_field" value="1" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off" class="newsletter-email-field"> <input class="btn" type="submit" value="Subscribe" disabled> <label class="newsletterconfirm" for="newsletterconfirm"> <input id="newsletterconfirm" required type="checkbox"> <p>I consent to my email address being used in accordance with the <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/privacy-policy/">privacy policy</a>.</p> </label> </form> </div> </section> </main> <footer class="site-footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="container"> <section class="footer-information"> <h4 class="heading"> <a href="/web/20200822164138/https://www.nobelprize.org/the-nobel-prize-organisation/">About the Nobel Prize organisation</a> </h4> <div class="footer-sections border-top"> <div class="footer-section"> <h5> <a 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