Ragnar Sohlman
(1870-1948)

As a young chemical engineer, Ragnar Sohlman worked for Alfred Nobel in his laboratory in San Remo, Italy. In his will, Alfred Nobel made Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist executors of his will. Realizing that the assets of Alfred Nobel were located in several countries, the executors first decided to move most of these assets to Sweden. Suspecting that French authorities might make claim to the money and block its transfer, the two young engineers simply went round the banks in Paris with horse and carriage and collected the shares, bonds and other documents belonging to the Nobel estate. The documents were then packed into crates and shipped back to Sweden from one of the railroad stations in Paris (Gare du Nord) as registered luggage.

Back in Sweden, Ragnar Sohlman played a very important role in executing the will of Alfred Nobel. He was instrumental in establishing the Nobel Foundation and organizing its cooperation with the prize-awarding institutions.

Ragnar Sohlman then worked for one of the Nobel companies in Sweden, AB Bofors Nobelkrut, from 1899-1919. He became its chief executive officer.

During 1929-1946 Ragnar Sohlman served as the Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation.