At the age of 17, Swedish Alfred Nobel spoke five languages fluently. Nobel became an inventor and businessman, and at the time of his death on 10 December 1896, he had 355 patents worldwide – one of them was the patent on dynamite. Furthermore, he had started 87 companies all over the world. According to his will, Alfred Nobel's enormous fortune was to be used to establish prizes to award those who had done their best to benefit mankind in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, five years after Nobel's death. In 1969, another prize was added "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel".
The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies
The Nobel Laureates are announced at the beginning of October each year. A couple of months later, on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, they receive their prizes from the Swedish King – a Nobel diploma, a medal, and 10 million Swedish crowns per prize. All Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, except for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. (When Alfred Nobel was alive, Norway and Sweden were united under one monarch, until 1905 when Norway became an independent kingdom with its own king.)
Why are the individuals and organisations awarded a Nobel Prize called Nobel Laureates?
The word "Laureate" refers to being signified by the laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, the god Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. A laureal wreath is a circular crown made of branches and leaves of the bay laurel (In latin: Laurus nobilis). In ancient Greek laurel wreaths were awarded to victors as a sign of honour - both in athletic competitions and in poetic meets.
543 Nobel Prizes
Between 1901 and 2010, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences were awarded 543 times. There have been a few years in which the Nobel Prize was not awarded, particularly during World War I and II. In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: "If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation's restricted funds."
Physics
Awarded to one Laureate - 47
Shared by two Laureates - 29
Shared by three Laureates - 28
Chemistry
Awarded to one Laureate - 62
Shared by two Laureates - 22
Shared by three Laureates - 18
Medicine
Awarded to one Laureate - 38
Shared by two Laureates - 31
Shared by three Laureates - 32
Literature
Awarded to one Laureate - 99
Shared by two Laureates - 4
Shared by three Laureates - 0
Peace
Awarded to one Laureate - 62
Shared by two Laureates - 28
Shared by three Laureates - 1
Economic Sciences
Awarded to one Laureate - 22
Shared by two Laureates - 15
Shared by three Laureates - 5
Total number:
Awarded to one Laureate - 330
Shared by two Laureates - 129
Shared by three Laureates - 84
Why is that? In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: "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."
840 Nobel Laureates
817 Laureates and 23 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2010. Of them, 67 are Laureates in Economic Sciences. A small number of individuals and organizations have been honoured more than once, which means that 813 individuals and 20 unique organizations have received the Nobel Prize in total. See "Multiple Nobel Laureates".
Years when the Nobel Prize have not been awarded
Nobel Prize -----Year
Physics -----1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941, 1942
Chemistry -----1916, 1917, 1919, 1924, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1942
Medicine -----1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1940, 1941, 1942
Literature -----1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943
Peace -----1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1967, 1972
Economic Sciences – Nil
41 Nobel Prizes to women
41 Nobel Prizes and Prizes in Economic Sciences have been awarded to women and 776 to men between 1901 and 2010. A small number of Nobel Laureates have been honoured more than once, which makes a total of 40 females and 773 males who have received the Nobel Prize.
The youngest Nobel Laureate
To date, the youngest Nobel Laureate is Lawrence Bragg, who was just 25 years old when he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his father in 1915.
The oldest Nobel Laureate
The oldest Laureate to date is Leonid Hurwicz, who was 90 years old when he was awarded the 2007 Prize in Economic Sciences
Two Nobel Laureates have declined the Nobel Prize
Jean-Paul Sartre, awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.
Le Duc Tho, awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They were awarded the Prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace accord. Le Doc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason.
Four Nobel Laureates have been forced by authorities to decline the Nobel Prize
Adolf Hitler forbade three German Nobel Laureates, Richard Kuhn, Adolf Butenandt and Gerhard Domagk, from accepting the Nobel Prize. All of them could later receive the Nobel Prize Diploma and Medal, but not the prize amount.
Boris Pasternak, the 1958 Nobel Laureate in Literature, initially accepted the Nobel Prize but was later coerced by the authorities of the Soviet Union, his native country, to decline the Nobel Prize.
Multiple Nobel Laureates
The work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been honoured by a Nobel Peace Prize three times. Besides, the founder of the ICRC, Henry Dunant, was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
Linus Pauling is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes - the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize.
J. Bardeen
Physics 1956
Physics 1972
M. Curie
Physics 1903
Chemistry 1911
L. Pauling
Chemistry 1954
Peace 1962
F. Sanger
Chemistry 1958
Chemistry 1980
ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross
Peace 1917
Peace 1944
Peace 1963
UNHCR - The UN's refugee agency
Peace 1954
Peace 1981
Family Nobel Laureates
As you may notice, the Curies were a very successful 'Nobel Prize family'. Marie Curie herself was awarded two Nobel Prizes.
Married Couples
Marie Curie
Pierre Curie
Irène Joliot-Curie
Frédéric Joliot
Gerty Cori
Carl Cori
Alva Myrdal
Gunnar Myrdal
Mother & Daughter
Marie Curie
Irène Joliot-Curie
Father & Daughter
Pierre Curie
Irène Joliot-Curie
Father & Son
William Bragg
Lawrence Bragg
Niels Bohr
Aage N. Bohr
Hans von Euler-Chelpin
Ulf von Euler
Arthur Kornberg
Roger D. Kornberg
Manne Siegbahn
Kai M. Siegbahn
J. J. Thomson
George Paget Thomson
Brothers
Jan Tinbergen
Nikolaas Tinbergen
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