The Nobel Prize (Swedish: Nobelpriset ) is an annual, international award originating in Sweden. The award was established in 1895 by the Swedish chemist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Bernhard Nobel. It was first awarded in 1901 for achievements in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. An associated prize, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was instituted by Sweden's central bank in 1968 and first awarded in 1969. Although the Nobel Prize in Economics is not technically a Nobel Prize, its winners are announced with the Nobel Prize recipients and it is presented at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. The Nobel Prizes in the specific disciplines (physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature) and the Prize in Economics are widely regarded as the most prestigious award one can receive in those fields.
A recipient of the Nobel Prize (called a laureate) earns a gold medal, a diploma bearing a citation and a sum of money. The amount of money awarded depends on the income of the Nobel Foundation that year. In 2009, the amount was 10 million SEK (US$1.4 million) per prize. If a prize is awarded to more than one laureate, the money is either split evenly among them or, for three laureates, it may be divided into a half and two quarters.
The prizes are awarded by different associations. The Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences are awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded by the Nobel Assembly at (the) Karolinska Institutet; and the Nobel Prize in Literature is granted by the Swedish Academy. The Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded by a Swedish organisation, but rather by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The Nobel Prize has been criticised for not always choosing the best candidates, the lack of a Nobel Peace prize for Mahatma Gandhi, being one example. Also controversial is the strict rule against a prize being awarded to more than three people at once. This inevitably means one or more people will not be recognised if a notable achievement is accomplished by a team of collaborators. Similarly, the prohibition of posthumous awards fails to recognise achievements by a collaborator who happens to die before the prize is awarded.
History
Alfred Nobel (
listen ( help · info ) ) was born on 21 October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden into a family of engineers. He was a chemist, engineer, and inventor. In 1895 he purchased the Bofors iron and steel mill, which he converted into a major armaments manufacturer. Nobel amassed a sizeable personal fortune during his lifetime, most of it from his 355 different inventions, of which dynamite is the most famous. In 1888 Alfred had the unpleasant surprise of discovering and reading his own obituary, titled ‘The merchant of death is dead’ , in a French newspaper. The obituary was eight years premature as it was actually Alfred's brother Ludvig who had died. Nevertheless, Alfred was disappointed with what he read and with how he would be remembered, inspiring him to change his will. On the 10th of December 1896 Alfred Nobel died in his villa in San Remo, Italy at the age of sixty-three after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage.
To the surprise of many, Nobel requested in his last will and testament that his money be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature. Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime, the last was written a little over a year before he died, and signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on 27 November 1895. Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets, 31 million Swedish kronor (US$186 million in 2008), to establish and endow the five Nobel Prizes. Due to the level of scepticism surrounding the will it was not until April 26, 1897 that it was approved by the Storting (Norwegian Parliament). The executors of his will were Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist, who formed the Nobel Foundation to take care of Nobel's fortune and organise the prizes.
The members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that were to award the Peace Prize were appointed shortly after the will was approved. The prize-awarding organisations followed: the Caroline Medico-Chirurgical Institute (known as the Karolinska Institute) on 7 June, the Swedish Academy on 9 June, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 11 June. The Nobel Foundation then reached an agreement on guidelines for how the Nobel Prize should be awarded. In 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created statutes were promulgated by King Oscar II. In 1905, the Union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved, which meant the responsibility for awarding Nobel Prizes was split between the two countries. Norway's Nobel Committee became responsible for awarding the Peace Prize, leaving Sweden with the other prizes.
The Nobel Foundation
Main article: Nobel FoundationThe Nobel Foundation was founded as a private organisation on 29 June 1900, specifically to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes. In accordance with Nobel's will, the primary task of the Nobel Foundation is to manage the fortune Nobel left. Another important task of the Nobel Foundation is to market the Nobel Prize internationally and to oversee informal administration related to the Prizes. The Nobel Foundation is not involved in any way in the process of selecting the Nobel laureates. In many ways the Nobel Foundation is similar to an investment company, in that it invests Nobel's money to create a solid funding base for the prize and the administrative activities. The Nobel Foundation is exempt from all taxes in Sweden (since 1946) and from investment taxes in the United States (since 1953). Since the 1980s, the Foundation's investments have become more profitable and as at December 31, 2007, the assets controlled by the Nobel Foundation amounted to 3.628 billion Swedish kronor (approx. US$560 million).
According to the statutes, the Foundation should consist of a board of five Swedish or Norweigan citizens, with its seat in Stockholm. The Chairman of the Board should be appointed by the King in Council, with the other four members appointed by the trustees of the prize-awarding institutions. An Executive Director is then chosen from among the board members, a Deputy Director is appointed by the King in Council, and two deputies appointed by the trustees. However since 1995, all the members of the board have been chosen by the trustees and the Executive Director and the Deputy Director appointed by the board itself. As well as the board, the Nobel Foundation is made up of the prize-awarding institutions, (the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Assembly, the Swedish Academy, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee), the trustees of these institutions, and auditors.
Nobel Prize during World War II
In 1938 and 1939, Adolf Hitler's Reich forbade three laureates from Germany (Richard Kuhn, Adolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt, and Gerhard Domagk) from accepting their prizes. Each man was later able to receive the diploma and medal. Even though Sweden was officially neutral during World War II, the Prizes were awarded irregularly during this period. In 1939 the Peace Prize was not awarded and between 1940 and 1942 no Nobel Prize was awarded in any category, due to the occupation of Norway by Germany from 9 April 1940. In the subsequent year, all prizes were awarded except those for Literature and Peace.
During the occupation of Norway, three members of the Nobel Committee fled the country into exile. The remaining members escaped persecution from the Nazis due to the Nobel Foundation stating that the Nobel Committee building in Oslo was Swedish property and thus a safe haven from the German Military which was not at war with Sweden. These members kept the work of the Committee going but did not award any prizes. In 1944 the Nobel Foundation, together with the three members in exile, made sure that nominations were submitted for the Peace Prize and that the prize could be awarded once again.
Prize in Economic Sciences
The Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) celebrated its 300th anniversary in 1968 by donating a very large sum of money to the Nobel Foundation. The following year, the Nobel Memorial P
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