![]() To atone for this "accomplishment" and to relieve his conscience, he instituted his award for the promotion of peace." Although this is a commonly held belief, it is not confirmed in Nobel's own words. A Nobel Prize winner himself, Albert Einstein, said that "Alfred Nobel invented an explosive more powerful than any then known-an exceedingly effective means of destruction. There are many different theories about why the Nobel created the prize. Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Milton Friedman are inspirational individuals awarded the Nobel Prize.Alfred Nobel spoke several languages and lived and traveled around the world.It is believed that the Nobel Prize was an attempt by Nobel to leave a better legacy in the world than having improved military weaponry through his ingenuity.Although he was a declared pacifist, many of Nobel's inventions helped make war more devastating.Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Prize using the fortune he had built in the explosives business.One year before he died in 1896, Nobel signed his last will and testament, which set aside the majority of his vast estate to establish the five Nobel Prizes, including one awarded for the pursuit of peace.įollow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. Nobel was reportedly stunned by what he read, and as a result became determined to do something to improve his legacy. The prize carries a cash award of about a million dollars. Once French newspaper wrote " Le marchand de la mort est mort," or "the merchant of death is dead." The obituary went on to describe Nobel as a man "who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before." Alfred Nobels will, have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. Though some journalistic error, Alfred's obituary was widely printed instead, and he was scorned for being the man who made millions through the deaths of others. Nonetheless, he found out what others thought of his invention when, in 1888, his brother Ludvig died. ![]() Though he's widely credited with being a pacifist, it's not known whether Nobel approved of dynamite's military use or not. This liquid was a powerful explosive, but was so unstable and dangerous. Sobrero, who had invented nitroglycerine. As a result, Nobel - who eventually garnered 355 patents on his many inventions - grew fantastically wealthy.ĭynamite, of course, had other uses, and it wasn't long before military authorities began using it in warfare, including dynamite cannons used during the Spanish-American War. In Paris Nobel met a chemist named Ascanio. Railroad companies could now safety blast through mountains, opening up vast stretches of the Earth's surface to exploration and commerce. ![]() ![]() The invention of dynamite revolutionized the mining, construction and demolition industries. Nobel patented this invention as " dynamite," from the Greek word dunamis, or "power." Success didn't come easily: Early experiments included the creation of "blasting oil," a mixture of nitro and gunpowder, which resulted in several deadly explosions and once killed 15 people when it exploded in a storeroom in San Francisco.įinally, in 1867, Alfred Nobel found that by mixing nitroglycerin with diatomaceous earth (known as kieselguhr in German), the resulting compound was a stable paste that could be shaped into short sticks that mining companies might use to blast through rock. The disaster encouraged Alfred to try to find a way to make nitroglycerin safe. ![]() Though nitroglycerine was considered too unsafe to have any practical use, the Nobel family - which now had several profitable enterprises in Russia and Sweden - continued to investigate its potential for commercial and industrial uses.īut their inquiries had tragic results: In 1864, Alfred's younger brother Emil and several other people were killed in an explosion at one of their factories in Sweden. ![]()
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