Alfred Nobel and his prize

In his last will and testament, Swedish innovator, entrepreneur and industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833–96) decided that the majority of his fortune be set aside for an annual award to ‘those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind’. One of his own inventions, the dynamite, came to be overshadowed by this prize.

Every year since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and for peace. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences was not in Nobel’s will, but was established in memory of Alfred Nobel in 1968.

The award ceremony takes place on 10 December, the anniversary of the passing of Nobel, in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, and in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. It was Nobel who declared that the peace prize should be awarded by a Norwegian committee, which perhaps made more sense back then, as Sweden and Norway were united between 1814 and 1905.

Nobel made his money by establishing 90 factories in 20 countries and by registering 355 patents – among them, a patent for dynamite in the 1860s. His original fortune of around SEK 31 million has grown over the years, and the prize sum is SEK 10 million for each of the prizes.

December every year the Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm and Oslo.

A Nobel banquet with more than a thousand guests is held at Stockholm City Hall.

Nobel’s last will was to establish a prize to honour great minds around the world.

* The Nobel Prize is a registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation.

prizes are awarded: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences.

© The Swedish Institute, 2022

Writer: Emma Robertson

Editor: Rikard Lagerberg

Picture editor: Mona Loose

Graphic design: Spektra Design Paper: WFC silk

Printed by: ISBN: 978-91-89029-09-5

Article number: 1575-1

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