Every October, the Nobel Prize returns to the global spotlight, celebrating outstanding human achievements. Cultural, scientific, and literary communities turn their eyes to Stockholm, Sweden, where the Swedish Academy announces the winners who have made significant contributions to humanity for the year 2025.
The Five Original Fields of the Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious international awards, granted annually to individuals whose work demonstrates “the greatest benefit to humanity,” as envisioned by Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), the Swedish inventor of dynamite. According to Nobel’s 1895 will, the prize was to be awarded in five categories:
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Physics
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Chemistry
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Medicine
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Literature
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Peace
In 1900, the Nobel Foundation was established to manage Nobel’s fortune and oversee the awards. The first prizes were granted in 1901. Later, in 1968, the Swedish central bank established the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, first awarded in 1969, which was not part of Nobel’s original will.
Alfred Nobel and the Invention of Dynamite
Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist and engineer who invented dynamite in 1867. He achieved this by stabilizing highly volatile nitroglycerin with a porous substance called kieselguhr, creating a safer, moldable explosive. Despite personal tragedies, including the death of his younger brother in an explosion at his factory, Nobel continued his research, ultimately revolutionizing mining, construction, and industrial processes.
Nobel also developed a detonator capsule that relied on impact rather than heat, making dynamite both safe to transport and reliable in use. His innovations made him a successful entrepreneur and industrialist, establishing factories worldwide and accumulating immense wealth.
Nobel: Scientist, Inventor, and Humanist
Beyond chemistry, Nobel was a polymath fluent in five languages—Swedish, Russian, English, French, and German. He authored plays, poems, and novels, and held over 350 patents, including inventions for gas measurement and blasting devices. Despite creating tools later used in warfare, Nobel opposed conflict throughout his life. After being posthumously labeled the “merchant of death” by the press, he resolved to use his fortune to benefit humanity.
In his will, Nobel allocated 94% of his wealth to establish the Nobel Prizes, leaving only a small portion for his relatives. This act of philanthropy created a lasting legacy, encouraging scientific innovation, literature, and peace worldwide.
The Birth of the Nobel Prize
Nobel’s will called for an international institution to promote excellence in five scientific and cultural fields, supporting humanity and peace without bias. The Nobel Foundation was established to manage the fund and organize the awards, which are given to the most outstanding contributors in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901.
Alfred Nobel passed away on December 10, 1896, in San Remo, Italy, at the age of 63, leaving behind a legacy that continues to honor and inspire humanity through knowledge, creativity, and peace.
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