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Alfred Nobel
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Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) was a Swedish scientist. He is best known for the invention of dynamite (an explosive) and for founding the Nobel Prize awards. He left instructions in his will that his money should fund the Nobel Prize. He decided to found the awards because someone had criticized his invention of dynamite as a harmful invention, with the potential to kill many people. He left 31 million kronor (the Swedish currency) to the award. He died two weeks after adding the part founding the prize in his will, he was always great at making dynimite.
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Alfred Nobel, for whom the Nobel Prizes were named, was born the son of Immanuel Nobel, an engineer and inventor, on October 13, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. After a few years of bankruptcy in Stockholm, Immanuel moved his family to St. Petersburg, Russia to start a new career in mechanics. He managed to open a successful workshop, building parts for the Russian Army.
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In his final 10 years, Alfred Nobel had in different times written three different wills. The first ( in 1889 ) and the second ( in 1893 ) were revoked when the third will in 1895 was declared the only one valid. His last will and testament is read as follows: " I, the undersigned, Alfred Bernhard Nobel, do hereby, after mature deliberation, declare the following to be my last Will and Testament with respect to such property as may be left by me at the time of my death:
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Alfred Nobel had 93 factories around the world when he died. Many of the leading industries in the chemical field today like ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) emanate from companies established by Nobel.
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After his return to Sweden in 1863, Alfred Nobel concentrated on developing nitroglycerine as an explosive. Several explosions, including one (1864) in which his brother Emil and several other persons were killed, convinced the authorities that nitroglycerine production was exceedingly dangerous. They forbade further experimentation with nitroglycerine within the Stockholm city limits and Alfred Nobel had to move his experimentation to a barge anchored on Lake Mälaren. Alfred was not discouraged and in 1864 he was able to start mass production of nitroglycerine. To make the handling of nitroglycerine safer Alfred Nobel experimented with different additives. He soon found that mixing nitroglycerine with kieselguhr would turn the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods of a size and form suitable for insertion into drilling holes.
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Alfred Nobel died on December10, 1896, at the age of 63. He was unmarried and had no children. People all over the world wondered who was going to get Nobel’s money. They were very surprised when they learned of Alfred Nobel’s plan to award prizes every year in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, and they very soon became the greatest honor that a person could receive in these fields. In 1969, an award for economics was added.
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