About Alfred Nobel

Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden on October 21, 1833. Alfred´s father, Immanuel Nobel, was an engineer and inventor, and it was because of him that Alfred studied to become a chemical engineer. Nobel was most interested in the fields of literature, chemistry, and physics. By the age of 17 he was already fluent in five languages: Swedish, Russian, French, English, and French. Alfred became interested in the development of explosives so he started experimenting with nitroglycerin, a very difficult and dangerous material to work with. It was when he combined it with kieselghur, a fine sand, that he invented dynamite in 1866, a safer-to-manage explosive with the purpose of "promoting peace". "My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. As soon as men will find that in one instant, whole armies can be utterly destroyed, they surely will abide by golden peace."(Alfred Nobel.) Although Alfred Nobel was very known for his invention, he became even more known for his establishment of the Nobel Prizes. He never lived to see the awards because he established them in his death will, he died on December 10th, 1896 in San Remo, Italy. His legacy of the prizes became a world-known tradition that is still alive today. 

Alfred Nobel

Citations: 

"Alfred Nobel's Life and Work - for Gradeschoolers ". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 17 Nov 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/life-work/gradeschool.html>

Picture: 

Alfred Nobel. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.chemheritage.org/Discover/Online-Resources/Chemistry-in-History/Themes/Early-Chemistry-and-Gases/asset_upload_file892_36859_thumbnail.jpg>.