Till date, 975 people have been conferred with the global prize, which includes a gold medal, over $1 million in prize money and a diploma, and of the total number of winners only 58 have been women
A painting by Swedish artist Emil Osterman depicting the founder of the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel. nobelprize.org
Nobel Prize Day, which falls on 10 December, is marked to honour the achievements of Swedish engineer, philanthropist, entrepreneur, author and chemist Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Nobel, who died on 10 December 1896, instituted the Nobel Prize, which recognises excellence and outstanding achievements in fields such as economics, literature, medicine and sciences.
On 10 December, the Nobel Prizes are generally awarded to the winners in Stockholm.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
Alfred Nobel was born to an impoverished family in Stockholm in 1833. A descendant of the Swedish writer and scientist Olaus Rudbeck, the inventor was interested in explosives and engineering from his childhood.
He became interested in stabilising nitroglycerine, an explosive, unpredictable material, and ultimately invented dynamite as a more stable version of the explosive element. Nobel’s success, and the widespread use of dynamite in mining and weapons, made him financially secure. Later, he also branched out into the development of weapons and military technology such as rockets, cannons and progressive powder, according to the website of the Nobel Prize.
However, in later years, Nobel became interested in issues related to peace and society. He used most of his earnings to create the Nobel Prize. In his will, Nobel left 31 SEK, which comes up to about $265 million today, to fund the prize which award global excellence in various fields. The fields Nobel specified in his will were a reflection of his varied interests in the fields of arts and sciences.
The Nobel Prize:
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. While economics was not originally on the list of the prize, it was added on in the year 1968 at the request of the Swedish Central Bank.
Till date, 975 people have been conferred with the global prize, which includes a gold medal, over $1 million in prize money and a diploma. Of the total number of winners, only 58 have been women.
Nobel Prize ceremony this year
This year, the Nobel Prize ceremonies have been scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic for the second year in a row. The awards have been presented to the Nobel laureates in the home countries instead of a royal banquet held in Stockholm City Hall.
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