The Nobel Prize is one of the greatest honors in the world today.Once a year,people win this prize for their work in science,medicine,literature,economics,or world peace.Each winner received a gold metal,a diploma,and about $1 million.They also earn the respect of people around the world.
Nobel Prize winners receive their awards at ceremonies in Stockholm,Sweden,and Oslo,Norway,on December 10,the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel.Nobel was a scientist and inventor.In his will,he left his fortune to create the Nobel Prize.Nobel wanted people to remember him as a man of peace,but in his lifetime he was most famous for building weapons of war.
Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 in Stockholm,Sweden.His father,Immanuel,was an inventor.After Alfred was born,his father went to Russia to work.He worked with the government and made machinery and explosives.Several years later,Immanuel moved his family to Russia.Alfred and his two older brothers were interested in science and enjoyed watching their father in the laboratory.
When Alfred was 17 years old,he traveled to the United States and several European countries to study.Then he returned to Russia to work with his father and his brothers.They worked on the explosive weapons for the Russian military.At that time,the military use only one type of explosive—gunpowder.Then a chemistry professor showed the Nobels a heavy,oily liquid they could use in their work.It was called nitroglycerin.Nitroglycerin was a powerful explosive,but it was dangerous to work with.
Alfred and his father experimented with nitroglycerin.Finally,in 1863,Alfred invented a way to make it more safe.Scientists everywhere praised his wok.Nitroglycerin had many good uses.Workers used it to build roads through mountains and to construct mines deep in the earth.
Nobel’s invention was not perfect,however.Nitroglycerin exploded if someone dropped it or used it incorrectly.Sometimes it leaked from the cans.Sometimes the workers used the oily liquid on wheels or to clean their shoes!This often caused accidents and injures.After a while,some governments started to ban nitroglycerin because it was dangerous.
The Nobels continued to experiment to make nitroglycerin safer.Unfortunately,in September 1864,Alfred’s brother,Emil,was killed in an explosion in their laboratory.After the accident,Immanuel had a stroke and paralyzed.He died eight years later,on the same day Emil was died.
Alfred Nobel wanted to make nitroglycerin safe.He built a new laboratory and continued his work.In 1867,he discovered a new material to mix with the nitroglycerin.This material made the nitroglycerin safer and more effective.He called his new invention “dynamite.”
Nobel built factories all over the world.He continued his experiment and developed new and more powerful explosives.He also became interested in weapons.He developed a new type of gunpowder as well as other materials.Nobel became very wealthy.Many people said he was a bad person because he invented destructive weapons.But he believed that nations would stop wars if they had weapons that could destroy each other.
In 1888,Alfred Nobel’s older bother,Ludwig,died.A newspaper confused him with Alfred and called him “the merchant of death.” This upset Alfred very much.He wanted people to remember him as a man of peace.Seven years later he wrote out his will and created the Nobel Prize.When he died in 1896,people called his will the greatest gift ever made by one person.Since 1901,men and women from around the world have received Nobel Prize for their great achievements.People everywhere now remember Alfred Nobel for his efforts to make the world a better and more peaceful place.