Quick study: The Nobel Prize

Alfred Nobel left a legacy promoting peace and achievement, yet he made his fortune from a weapon of war. The son of an arms manufacturer, Nobel was a chemical engineer with an interest in explosives. He discovered how to stabilise nitroglycerine, named it “dynamite” and patented it in 1867.

 

Nobel left around 31 million Swedish kronor (valued at $250 million today) in his will to establish a fund rewarding “those who, during the preceding year … have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind”.

 

The task of setting up the foundation was left to former employees Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist. The pair had to contend with disgruntled relatives to centralise Nobel’s assets, which were scattered across Europe. Fearing that French authorities would stop Nobel’s money being transferred to Sweden, Sohlman collected shares, bonds and other documents from banks, shipping them back to Sweden as registered luggage. It took another four years to convince all the parties mentioned in Nobel’s will to carry out his wishes. But when the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, they captivated public interest, ensuring their longevity and significance.

 

Winning a Nobel prize entitles the winner to 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million). While some winners donate the money to science, the arts or humanitarian causes, others use it to pay off debts, from mortgages to school fees. In 1995, Robert Lucas of the University of Chicago agreed to pay his ex-wife half his Nobel Prize money if he won before October 31, 1995 (seven years after their divorce). As fate would have it, he won the prize on October 10, 1995, and his ex-wife pocketed her share. Albert Einstein also gave his Nobel winnings to his ex-wife and two sons. He signed away the money in 1919 – a bold move, as he didn’t win until 1921.

 

Every year on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death – December 10 – the Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, while in Stockholm, the King of Sweden awards the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Economic Sciences. In Stockholm, 1300 invited guests fill the Blue Hall of City Hall, which has been the venue of choice since 1974.

 

With the men in white tie and tails and the women in evening gowns, guests are treated to a three-course menu showcasing the best of Swedish gastronomy, to the accompaniment of musicians playing Swedish folk music.

 

To encourage flexibility in judging, no definition of “peace” has been established, and there are some contentious omissions. Despite five nominations between 1927 and 1948 for his promotion of non-violent reform in India, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi  never won the Peace Prize. He is often called the “Missing Laureate”.

 

In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research on radioactivity. Widowed in 1906, Marie continued her research and became the first female professor of general physics in the Faculty of Sciences at the Sorbonne. In between teaching, experimenting and promoting the use of radium to alleviate suffering, Marie managed to win her second Nobel – the 1911 Chemistry Prize. Proving husband-and-wife laboratory teams run in the family, Marie and Pierre’s daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with her husband Frédéric Joliot in 1935.