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Young World
Nobel gesture
Pearl S Buck receiving the Noble Prize for Literature in 1938
Alfred Nobel's greatness lay in his ability to combine the penetrating mind of the scientist and inventor with the forward-looking dynamism of the industrialist. Nobel was very interested in social and peace-related issues and held what were considered radical views in his era. He had a great interest in literature and wrote poetry and dramatic works.
In 1863, he began work as a chemist at his father's workshop at Heleneborg in Stockholm. Applying the Italian Sobrero's methods, he succeeded in further developing the explosive nitroglycerine, which he began manufacturing in Sweden in 1864. Plants subsequently opened in Germany and Norway, and then in other European countries and America. In 1867, Nobel obtained a patent on a special type of nitroglycerine, which he called "dynamite". The invention quickly proved its usefulness in building and construction in many countries. Production went hand-in-hand with research, energetically carried out at laboratories Nobel established in Stockholm and Hamburg and later also in Paris, at Bofors, and in San Remo. The original form of dynamite was gradually replaced by gelatin dynamite, which was safer to handle. In that development, too, Nobel played a major part. He wound up with a total of 355 patents, some more imaginative than useful, others both extremely practicable and valuable. He went on experimenting in pursuit of inventions in many fields, notably with synthetic materials. Income from the many enterprises all over the world made him one of the wealthiest men in Europe.
Countess Bertha Kinsk, his secretary for about two months was critical of the arms race. She wrote a famous book Lay Down Arms and became a prominent figure in the peace movement. No doubt this influenced Alfred Nobel when he wrote his final will which was to include a Prize for persons or organisations who promoted peace.
In January 1897, it was learned that he had left the bulk of his considerable estate to a fund, the interest on which was to be awarded annually to the persons whose work had been of the greatest benefit to mankind, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. The executors of his will were two young engineers, Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist. They set about forming the Nobel Foundation as an organisation to take care of the financial assets left by Nobel for this purpose and to coordinate the work of the Prize-Awarding Institutions.
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