Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896) was a Swedish inventor. In 1866, he invented dynamite. There were many uses for this new product. Big construction jobs, like building roads and dams, were made remarkably faster and easier. Alfred Nobel went on to manufacture dynamite and made a fortune from its worldwide application.

Mr. Nobel, troubled by the potentially destructive uses of his invention, wanted this fortune to reward human ingenuity for peaceful purposes. When he died, he left $9 million to establish a series of prizes in his name.

The Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology is one of six, the other five being for physics, chemistry, economics, literature and peace. For almost a century, the Nobel Prize has been regarded as the highest honor a person in each of these fields can receive.

The award itself consists of a gold medal and a sum of money. In 1901, when the prizes were first awarded, they were each worth $40,000. By 1991, however, they had grown in value to nearly one million dollars. The award is made in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.

Adapted from Curiosity is the Key to Discovery: The Story of How Nobel Laureates Entered the World of Science, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1992

Back to Curiosity is Key page

 
Some links may be under construction