by Nils Ringertz Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm on 21 October 1833. His father, , was an engineer and inventor who built bridges and buildings in Stockholm. In connection with his construction work Immanuel Nobel also experimented with different techniques for blasting rocks. Alfred’s mother, born , came from…

Born in Stockholm On October 21, 1833 a baby boy was born to a family in Stockholm, Sweden who was to become a famous scientist, , businessman and founder of the Nobel Prizes. His father was Immanuel Nobel and his mother was Andriette Ahlsell Nobel. They named their son Alfred. Alfred’s father was an engineer…

  by Ragnhild Lundström Introduction For hundreds of years, black powder was the only explosive available for civilian as well as military purposes. Alfred Nobel’s invention of the detonator ensured a controlled explosion of nitroglycerine and made it possible to introduce this much stronger explosive on the civilian explosives market. His second important invention, dynamite,…

Introduction Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) – scientist, author and pacifist, but above all the inventor of dynamite and holder of 355 patents – shaped as a human being in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Russian capital where different nationalities and cultures mixed and where science and literature developed in a dynamic interaction between Western European tradition…

by Nils Ringertz In his of November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel specified that the bulk of his estate should be deposited in a fund, the interest of which should be divided into five parts and to be used for Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace. One of the five shares should be given to…

Literature occupied a central role in the life of Alfred Nobel. He regarded various literary forms of expression as opportunities to achieve a greater understanding of our own thoughts, lives and relationships with other people and our surroundings. Alfred Nobel had an extensive library, which included important European literary works. Inspired by Shelley and Byron,…

One of the founders of Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget (later Nitro Nobel), Smitt was Chairman of the Board from 1864 to 1904. In the 1850s Smitt amassed a fortune in South America. He liquidated his assets in 1856 and returned to Stockholm. There, his prudent property investments, particularly in the Kungsholmen district, earned him the sobriquet “King…

by Sven Tägil When Alfred Nobel’s will was made known after his death in San Remo on 10 December 1896, and when it was disclosed that he had established a special peace prize, this immediately created a great international sensation. The name Nobel was connected with explosives and with inventions useful to the art of…

The sulfuric acid factory before it was renovated. Copyright © Nitro Nobel Workers outside the factory. Copyright © Nitro Nobel   The sulfuric acid factory. Drawing by Olle Rydberg Copyright © Nitro Nobel  

The factory at Vinterviken was destroyed more than once by terrible explosions. Sketch by R. Haglund.