Alfred Nobel (21 October 1833 - 10 December 1896) was a brilliant man with so many innovative ideas. At the time of his death he held 350 patents for his inventions. He was also the owner of several companies which dominated the explosives industry. By the time of his death in December 1896 he was one of the world's wealthiest men. Alfred Nobel was most famous in his time for the development of dynamite. Today he is best known for his Nobel prizes.
Birth
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born October 21st 1833 in Stockholm Sweden to parents Immanuel Ludvig Nobel and Caroline Andriette Ashell. Nobel's father was a builder, industrialist, and inventor. His great-great great-grandfather, Olof Rudbeck, was one of the most important Swedish scientists of the seventeenth century. [1] Born into a higher class family Alfred attended St. Jakob's Higher Apologist School in Stockholm until 1842.
Childhood & Education
In 1842 the family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. While in St. Petersburg, he and his brothers received a private education from Russian and Swedish university professors. Alfred was fluent in English, Italian, French, German, Russian and his native language, Swedish. [2] He had private tutors in Russia where he excelled as a pupil under famous chemist Nikolai Zinin, and then in 1850, Alfred left Russia at the age of 17. After spending a year in Paris studying chemistry, he traveled to the United States at the age of 18 for four years to study chemistry. For a short time he worked with and under inventor John Ericsson, who designed the American Civil War ironclad.
Life and Contribution:
After four years, he returned to Russia and began working in his father's factory making military equipment for the Crimean War. Alfred filed his first patent, for a gas meter, in 1857. In 1859, at the war's end, the company went bankrupt. The family moved back to Sweden, and Alfred soon began experimenting with explosives.
Nobel's first major contribution was a patent detonator, constructed so that the detonation of the liquid nitroglycerin explosive charge was effected by a smaller charge placed in a metal cap charge with detonating mercury. This used an initial ignition principle by using a strong shock rather than a heated starter used in past detonations. In 1864 at the family’s Swedish factory there was a huge explosion that killed five people, including Alfred’s younger brother Emil.[3] Due to this tragic event Alfred set out to develop a safer explosive. In 1867, he patented a mixture of nitroglycerin and an absorbent substance, producing what he named "Dynamite." Still not satisfied, Nobel continued to refine the process and in 1875 he created blasting gelatin, a colloidal solution of nitrocellulose in nitroglycerin which in many respects proved to be an ideal explosive. Its force was somewhat greater than that of pure nitroglycerin, it was less sensitive to shock, and it was strongly resistant to moisture and water. This was marketed as Nobel’s Extra Dynamite, and is quite similar the the TNT product of today.
In 1879 Alfred Nobel was working on a less smoky military explosive charges for artillery missiles, torpedoes, and ammunition. One of the last discoveries in the realm of explosives was a progressive smokeless powder in 1887; it was further perfected and patented in 1896. It was developed in his laboratory at San Remo during the last years of his life.
Nobel’s interests as an inventor were by no means confined to explosives; his later work covered electrochemistry, optics, biology, and physiology. The list of his patents runs to no fewer than 355 in different countries. His pioneer work helped later inventors solve many problems in the manufacturing of artificial rubber, leather, silk, and many other products. [4]
Awards
John Fritz Medal -Since 1902 the John Fritz Medal has been yearly awarded by the American Association of Engineering Societies for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for John Fritz's 80th birthday, who lived between 1822 and 1913. [5]
Death
Alfred died at age 63 on December 10, 1896; he passed away in Sanremo, Italy from a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of his death he had 90 factories in 20 different countries, he was very busy and never married. His will stated his enormous fortune was to be used to establish the Nobel Prize to honor men and women who had done their best to benefit mankind in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature, and for working toward peace.
“I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results.”~ Alfred Nobel [6]
The Nobel Prize bestowed by Swedish and Norwegian institutions in recognition of academic, cultural or scientific advances.
Legacy- Nobel Prize
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded five years after Alfred’s death in 1901. A seventh prize was added "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel" In 1968. Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The Prizes are based on a donation received by the Nobel Foundation, and are traditionally awarded on December 10, the anniversary of his death. The awards are decided by boards of deputies appointed by Swedish learned societies and, in the case of the peace prize, by the Norwegian Parliament. [7]
Alfred Bernhard Nobel
Table of Contents
Alfred Nobel (21 October 1833 - 10 December 1896) was a brilliant man with so many innovative ideas. At the time of his death he held 350 patents for his inventions. He was also the owner of several companies which dominated the explosives industry. By the time of his death in December 1896 he was one of the world's wealthiest men. Alfred Nobel was most famous in his time for the development of dynamite. Today he is best known for his Nobel prizes.
Birth
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born October 21st 1833 in Stockholm Sweden to parents Immanuel Ludvig Nobel and Caroline Andriette Ashell. Nobel's father was a builder, industrialist, and inventor. His great-great great-grandfather, Olof Rudbeck, was one of the most important Swedish scientists of the seventeenth century. [1] Born into a higher class family Alfred attended St. Jakob's Higher Apologist School in Stockholm until 1842.Childhood & Education
In 1842 the family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. While in St. Petersburg, he and his brothers received a private education from Russian and Swedish university professors. Alfred was fluent in English, Italian, French, German, Russian and his native language, Swedish. [2] He had private tutors in Russia where he excelled as a pupil under famous chemist Nikolai Zinin, and then in 1850, Alfred left Russia at the age of 17. After spending a year in Paris studying chemistry, he traveled to the United States at the age of 18 for four years to study chemistry. For a short time he worked with and under inventor John Ericsson, who designed the American Civil War ironclad.Life and Contribution:
After four years, he returned to Russia and began working in his father's factory making military equipment for the Crimean War. Alfred filed his first patent, for a gas meter, in 1857. In 1859, at the war's end, the company went bankrupt. The family moved back to Sweden, and Alfred soon began experimenting with explosives.Nobel's first major contribution was a patent detonator, constructed so that the detonation of the liquid nitroglycerin explosive charge was effected by a smaller charge placed in a metal cap charge with detonating mercury. This used an initial ignition principle by using a strong shock rather than a heated starter used in past detonations. In 1864 at the family’s Swedish factory there was a huge explosion that killed five people, including Alfred’s younger brother Emil.[3] Due to this tragic event Alfred set out to develop a safer explosive. In 1867, he patented a mixture of nitroglycerin and an absorbent substance, producing what he named "Dynamite." Still not satisfied, Nobel continued to refine the process and in 1875 he created blasting gelatin, a colloidal solution of nitrocellulose in nitroglycerin which in many respects proved to be an ideal explosive. Its force was somewhat greater than that of pure nitroglycerin, it was less sensitive to shock, and it was strongly resistant to moisture and water. This was marketed as Nobel’s Extra Dynamite, and is quite similar the the TNT product of today.
In 1879 Alfred Nobel was working on a less smoky military explosive charges for artillery missiles, torpedoes, and ammunition. One of the last discoveries in the realm of explosives was a progressive smokeless powder in 1887; it was further perfected and patented in 1896. It was developed in his laboratory at San Remo during the last years of his life.
Nobel’s interests as an inventor were by no means confined to explosives; his later work covered electrochemistry, optics, biology, and physiology. The list of his patents runs to no fewer than 355 in different countries. His pioneer work helped later inventors solve many problems in the manufacturing of artificial rubber, leather, silk, and many other products. [4]
Awards
John Fritz Medal -Since 1902 the John Fritz Medal has been yearly awarded by the American Association of Engineering Societies for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for John Fritz's 80th birthday, who lived between 1822 and 1913. [5]Death
Alfred died at age 63 on December 10, 1896; he passed away in Sanremo, Italy from a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of his death he had 90 factories in 20 different countries, he was very busy and never married. His will stated his enormous fortune was to be used to establish the Nobel Prize to honor men and women who had done their best to benefit mankind in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature, and for working toward peace.“I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results.”~ Alfred Nobel [6]
Legacy- Nobel Prize
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded five years after Alfred’s death in 1901. A seventh prize was added "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel" In 1968. Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The Prizes are based on a donation received by the Nobel Foundation, and are traditionally awarded on December 10, the anniversary of his death. The awards are decided by boards of deputies appointed by Swedish learned societies and, in the case of the peace prize, by the Norwegian Parliament. [7]Alfred Nobel - The founder of the Nobel Prize, viewed 9 July 2017