“While the invading forces marched in the streets of Copenhagen, I was busy dissolving Laue’s and also James Franck’s medals.” Since 1901, the Nobel Prize medals have been part of many remarkable stories. Three Nobel Prize medals had to be dissolved in Denmark to keep them hidden from the Nazis. Two Nobel Prize medals were…

The face of the medal of the Norwegian Nobel Committee shows Alfred Nobel in a pose slightly different from that of the other medals. The inscription is the same. The other side of the Nobel Peace Prize medal represents a group of three men forming a fraternal bond. The inscription reads: Pro pace et fraternitate…

by Per Olof Hulth Introduction Mankind has studied the universe for thousands of years by looking at the fascinating night sky, guided by the visible light emitted from myriads of stars and other phenomena. During the last century new pictures of the night sky have been discovered by scientists using different wavelengths of light which…

1901-2010 The Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have rewarded several breakthroughs that revealed the way in which our bodies protect us against microscopic threats of almost any description. Each of these breakthroughs have provided us with a better understanding of how the immune system senses an attack, how it recognizes and deals with intruders…

1906-2000 The Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have rewarded several achievements that helped to reveal the mysterious complexities of the nervous system. The breakthroughs made by each of the Nobel Laureates below have provided us with a better understanding of how nerves are made up, and how they create and transmit information in the…

The first third of the 20th century was a period of major revolutionary developments in physics. It began with d tearing down the reigning paradigm of Newtonian physics. Milestones in experimental work on the atom by the likes of , Hans Geiger, and soon followed. During the 1920s, , , , , and others laid…

by Nanny Fröman Introduction and ‘s pioneering research was again brought to mind when on April 20 1995, their bodies were taken from their place of burial at Sceaux, just outside Paris, and in a solemn ceremony were laid to rest under the mighty dome of the Panthéon. Marie Curie thus became the first woman…

Celebrating the written world of human experience and imagination Six master storytellers Nadine Gordimer, Nobel Prize laureate in Literature 1991 Nadine Gordimer: “I always repeat; read, read, read” When asked about her most valuable words of advice, Nadine Gordimer, answered: “Boringly, I always repeat; read, read, read and don’t read the book coming in a…

by Ivar Libæk The International Committee of the Red Cross was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in , and – on the third occasion jointly with the League of Red Cross Societies. This makes the Red Cross unique: no recipient has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as often as this organisation. The very first…

Each Nobel Prize diploma is a unique work of art where the design is decided by the prize-awarding bodies. The literature diploma is written on parchment, i.e. specially treated leather, using largely the same technique as those of medieval book illustrators. The diplomas given to the other laureates are produced on specially ordered handmade paper.…