He developed nitroglycerine as an explosive. He invented dynamite and had it patented. Yet, after his death, Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896) became famous for the yearly prizes in his name for achievements in peace, literature, medicine, medicine, physics and chemistry.
No, he wasn’t the father of all makeovers. Growing up, Nobel favored poetry and literature alongside physics and chemistry. And he did concentrate on nitroglycerine for construction work, to be fair. So he wasn’t really the violent turned Renaissance man.
Still, the extraordinary will he left behind caught people by surprise, no less his heirs (but that’s another story). And every October, we marvel at the selected laureates and their contributions for the development of mankind, in the name of the man whose legacy made us recognize them in the first place.
The Legacy of all Legacies
Well, ok, not counting the gospels left by you-know-who. Anyway, beyond bequeathing money and property to family, friends, servants, Nobel established a unique and lasting legacy to the rest of the world which begins thus:[1].
“The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way: the capital, invested in safe securities by my executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
Following the above with –
“The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or medical work by the Caroline Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be a Scandinavian or not”,
the 5 Nobel committees were soon set up by the 4 named institutions within 2 years from his death (a sixth prize was added in 1968 but more on that later). 2 years later, the Nobel Foundation was established to be the over-all administrator of Nobel’s fund.
As an aside, though Swedish, Nobel included the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) because Sweden was during his lifetime united with Norway (the union ended in 1905).
There were many details missing in Nobel’s will, which partly accounted for the delay in setting up the committees and the foundation (the heirs it seems accounted for the other part). However, once the foundation was established the statutes (partly discussed below) were soon drawn up to provide necessary guidelines. Of course, the prize-awarding bodies (the 4 named institutions in the will) have more detailed rules as regards the award of their respective prizes.
Statutes of the Nobel Foundation
a) Eligibility
“To be eligible to be considered for a prize, a written work shall have been issued in print or have been published in another form, to be decided on its own behalf by each prize-awarding body.” (Paragraph 3)
“A prize amount may be equally divided between two works, each of which is considered to merit a prize. If a work that is being rewarded has been produced by two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded to them jointly. In no case may a prize amount be divided between more than three persons.” (Paragraph 4) Organizations, of course, count as 1. To date, there have been 20 organizations which have won Nobel prizes.
”Work produced by a person since deceased shall not be considered for an award. If, however, a prizewinner dies before he has received the prize, then the prize may be presented.” (supra) This was an amendment introduced in 1974. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize was twice awarded posthumously: to Dag Hammarskjöld and Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize in Literature 1931).[2].
b) Nominations
“To be considered eligible for an award, it is necessary to be nominated in writing by a person competent to make such a nomination. A personal application for an award shall not be considered.” (Paragraph 7) In fact, invites are sent by the different Nobel committees to selected people for them to nominate candidates.
“Competence to submit nominations shall be incumbent on representatives, domestic as well as foreign, of the field of culture in question, in conformity with detailed regulations issued by the prize-awarding body.” (supra) Hence, the invites are mostly sent to scientists, professors, and other experts in their fields.
“Each year the prize adjudication shall embrace such nominations as have been submitted during the preceding twelve months up to February 1.” (supra) Actually, the invites are sent out in September of the previous year.
“Nominations should be explained and accompanied by the publications and other documents cited in support of them.” (Paragraph 8 )
“Where a nomination is written in a language that cannot be translated without particular trouble or considerable expense, or where, to be able to appraise a proposed work, the prize-awarding body must chiefly make itself acquainted with the contents of a document written in such a language, the prize-awarding body shall not be under obligation to take up the nomination for further consideration.” (supra) Seems unfair but what can we do? Maybe this is partly why most laureates are Westerners.
Procedure[3]. (more or less)
The processes vary slightly per committee but they are very similar:
September – Nomination forms are sent out. The Nobel Committees send out confidential nomination forms to thousands of people (university professors around the world, scientists, past Nobel Laureates, etc).
February - May - Deadline for submission. The completed nomination forms must reach the relevant Nobel Committee by 31 January, or postmarked 1 February in the case of the Peace Prize, of the following year. The relevant Committees then screen the nominations and select the preliminary candidates for approval by their respective award-giving institutions.
June-August – Writing of the report. The Nobel Committees prepare their reports with recommendations to be submitted to their respective award-giving bodies.
September – Committee submits recommendations. The Nobel Committees submit their reports which are then taken up by the relevant award-giving bodies.
October – Nobel Laureates are chosen. In early October, the Nobel Laureates are selected. The names of the Nobel Laureates are then announced on the same day.
December –Nobel Laureates receive their prize. The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony takes place on 10 December (Nobel’s death anniversary) in Stockholm or Norway (in the case of the Peace Prize), where the Nobel Laureates receive their Nobel Prize, consisting of a Nobel Medal and Diploma, and a document confirming the prize amount.
c) Prizes
“A work may not be awarded a prize, unless it by experience or expert scrutiny has been found to be of such outstanding importance as is manifestly intended by the will.” (Paragraph 5)
There are 5 Nobel prizes awarded pursuant to Nobel’s will. But there are actually 6 recognized Nobel Prizes because in 1968, Sweden’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, established the Nobel Prize for Economics in memory of Alfred Nobel.[4]. Together with the Nobel laureate for physics and chemistry, the laureate for economics is chosen by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
The prize-awarding bodies have Nobel Committees for each prize. The committees are responsible for selecting the candidates from the nominees submitted by their invited experts.
The Nobel Foundation has no say in selecting any laureate.[5].
“No appeals may be made against the decision of a prize-awarding body with regard to the award of a prize.
Proposals received for the award of a prize, and investigations and opinions concerning the award of a prize, may not be divulged. Should divergent opinions have been expressed in connection with the decision of a prize-awarding body concerning the award of a prize, this may not be included in the record or otherwise divulged.
A prize-awarding body may, however, after due consideration in each individual case, permit access to material which formed the basis for the evaluation and decision concerning a prize, for purposes of research in intellectual history. Such permission may not, however, be granted until at least 50 years have elapsed after the date on which the decision in question was made.” (Paragraph 10) So, whatever rumours we hear of nominees, they’re just that, rumours
Trivia[6].
Since the beginning, in 1901, 789 individuals and 20 organizations have received Nobel prizes. Although in all, 811 prizes have been awarded (789 + 20 only equals 809) this is so because there are 2 individuals who won in 2 different categories each.
Marie Curie received the prize for physics in 1903, jointly with her husband Pierre for “their joint researches on the radiation phenomena” and for chemistry in 1911 for “the discovery of the elements radium and polonium”. The Curie family are an inspired lot. Marie and Pierre’s daughter, Irene - together with husband Frédéric Joliot – won the chemistry prize in 1935 “in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.”
Linus Pauling is the next double recipient. He received his prizes: for chemistry in 1954 “for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances” and for peace in 1962. Another interesting fact about M. Pauling is that he received his 2 prizes solo.
There are 4 other double recipients but they all received prizes for the same categories. 2 were individuals. John Bardeen received 2 physics prizes, first the 3-man prize “for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect” then the 1972 (again) 3-way prize “for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity”. Frederick Sanger received the 1958 and the 1980 prizes in chemistry, the former “for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin and the latter (a 3-man prize) “for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids”.
The next 2 were organizations. The 1st is actually a triple recipient. The Comité International d e la Croix Rouge (The International Committee of the Red Cross) received the 1917, 1944 and 1963 awards for peace. And, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees received the 1954 and the 1981 prizes for peace.
The youngest laureate was then 25 year old William Lawrence Bragg who received the physics prize together with his father in 1915 “for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays”. The oldest was 90 year old Leonid Hurwicz who shared the 3-man economics prize in 2007 “for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory”.
Nobel prizes offer recognition to the laureates and their work, and inspiration to all of us. Alfred Nobel remains a remarkable man 111 years after his death. For his contributions during his lifetime but most especially for the noble legacy he left behind.
[1] Alfred Nobel’s Will. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from The Official Web Site of the Nobel Foundation Web site: http://nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/will/will-full.html
[2] Nomination Facts. Retrieved October 27, 2008, from The Official Web Site of the Nobel Foundation Web site: http://nobelprize.org/nomination/nomination_facts.html
[3] See Frequently Asked Questions, Nominations, The Official Web Sit of the Nobel Foundation Web site: http://nobelprize.org/contact/faq/index.html#nobelprize
[4] The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Retrieved October 27, 2008, from The Official Web Site of the Nobel Foundation Web site: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/
[5] The Nobel Prize Awarders. Retrieved October 27, 2008, from The Official Web Site of the Nobel Foundation Web site: http://nobelprize.org/prize_awarders/
[6] Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved October 27, 2008, from The Official Web Site of the Nobel Foundation Web site: http://nobelprize.org/contact/faq/index.html
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