Nobel Prize Awards

What are the Nobel Prize Awards?

The Nobel prize awards were first established in 1901 and are a selection of six awards;

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physiology orMedicine
The Nobel Prize in Literature
The Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (introduced in 1969)

The prizes are awarded annually on the 10th of December on the anniversary of the Swedish chemist and engineer, Alfred Nobel, who in his will left all his wealth to the establishment of five prizes. The winners receive a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary award (in 2020 the award was 10 million SEK). A prize cannot be shared among more than three individuals, however, the Nobel prize can be awarded to organisations of more than three people. From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. The ceremony is held in Sweden in the Blue Hall at the Stockholm City Hall. The prizes are handed out by the Nobel Prize Committee chairman. The Norway Royal attened however they do not award the prizes. In total since 1901-2020 the prizes have been awarded 603 times to 962 people/ organisations.

Who is Alfred Nobel?

Alfred Nobel was born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the fourth of eight children of Immanuel Nobel and Carolina Andriette Nobel. When Alfred was young his family moved to Saint Petersburg in Russia where his father became successful as a manufacturer of machine tools and explosives. Alfred left Russia at the age of 18. He studied chemistry for a year in Paris and then for four years in the United States. Alfred was interested in nitroglycerin, a highly explosive liquid too dangerous for practical use.

When he returned to Russia after his studies, Alfred worked together with his father to develop nitroglycerin as a commercially useful substance. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in Geesthacht, Germany and patented it in 1867. It was the first safely manageable explosive. Initially Nobel considered naming it “Nobel’s Safety Powder” but ultimately named it after the Greek word for ‘power’, Dynamite.

In 1888, Alfred’s brother Ludvig died while he was in France and a French newspaper erroneously published the obituary of Alfred instead. Titled “The Merchant of Death is Dead”, it went on to say “Dr Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” Nobel was nicknamed the Merchant of Death because he made his fortune through explosives, which were also used for warfare. After reading his own obituary, Nobel became concerned about how he would be remembered after his death.

On 27 November 1895, Nobel signed his last will, which left 94% of his total assets, 31,225,000 Swedish kronor, to establish the five Nobel Prizes. Alfred Nobel died of a stroke on December 10, 1896, in San Remo, Italy. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, 5 years after his death. The synthetic element nobelium is named after him. The Monument to Alfred Nobel was created in his honour in Saint Petersburg.

How many people have been awarded more than one Nobel prize?

Four people have been awarded more than one Nobel prize, they are:

Linus Pauling

Born: 28 February 1901, Portland, OR, USA

Died: 19 August 1994, Big Sur, CA, USA

Award

The Nobel Peace Prize 1962 "for his fight against the nuclear arms race between East and West."

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1954 "for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances."

Pauling is the only person who has won two undivided Nobel Prizes.

Marie Curie

Born: 7 November 1867, Warsaw, Russian Empire (now Poland)

Died: 4 July 1934, Sallanches, France

Award

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911 "in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element."

John Bardeen

Born: 23 May 1908, Madison, WI, USA

Died: 30 January 1991, Boston, MA, USA

Award

Jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1956 withWilliam Bradford Shockley and Walter Houser Brattain "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect."
Jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1972 with Leon Neil Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer "for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory."

Frederick Sanger

Born: 13 August 1918, Rendcombe, United Kingdom

Died: 19 November 2013, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Award

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1958 "for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin."

Jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1980 with Paul Berg and Walter Gilbert "for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids."

How many organisations have been awarded more than on Nobel prize?

Two organisations have been awarded more than one Nobel prize, they are:

ICRC

Award

The Nobel Peace Prize 1917 "for the efforts to take care of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war and their families."

The Nobel Peace Prize 1944 "for the great work it has performed during the war on behalf of humanity."

The Nobel Peace Prize 1963 "for promoting the principles of the Geneva Convention and cooperation with the UN."

UNHCR

Award

The Nobel Peace Prize 1954 "for its efforts to heal the wounds of war by providing help and protection to refugees all over the world."

The Nobel Peace Prize 1981 “for promoting the fundamental rights of refugees."

How many women have won a Nobel Prize?

Between 1901 and 2020 the Nobel Prize and Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded 57 times to women. Including Marie Curie, Irène Joliot-Curie, Linda B. Buck and Nadia Murad.