Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden.
- He was a famous scientist, inventor, businessman and founder of the Nobel Prizes.
- He invented the dynamite in 1866. Alfred got a patent or legal right of ownership on this material the next year. Dynamite and detonating caps were much in demand in the construction industry. Because of this, Alfred was able to put up factories in 90 different places.
- By the time of his death in 1896 he had 355 patents.
- Alfred had no family of his own.
- He died in San Remo, Italy on December 10, 1896, aged 63. In his last will and testament, he wrote that much of his fortune was to be used to give prizes to those who have done their best for humanity in the field of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.
- In 1901, the first Nobel Prizes were given. Since then, the prizes are awarded every year, with some exceptions.
- In 1968, Sweden’s central bank, established Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred.
- So today there are a total of 6 categories of Nobel Prizes: Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economic Sciences.
Source: nobelprize.org