The history of humanity and science is full of many interesting stories. However, undoubtedly the most interesting story belongs to Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes. As we all know, the Nobel Prizes are considered one of the most prestigious science awards in the world and are held every year. These awards are organized by the Nobel Foundation and named after Alfred Nobel. The strange point in this story is that Alfred Nobel was the inventor of many explosives, especially dynamite.
The name of one of the Nobel Prizes given in 6 branches is the Nobel Peace Prize. In other words, the peace prize is given to the inventor of an invention that aims to kill the most people in the shortest way. So why? To answer this question, it is necessary to examine Alfred Nobel’s life a little. Life is full of coincidences. Perhaps, if Mr. Alfred had not seen a newspaper’s erroneous headline, we would not be talking about such a reward today.
Alfred was an enthusiastic child, open to learning:
His full name is Alfred Bernhard Nobel, who was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. Although there were eight siblings, only Alfred and his three brothers survived to become adults.
Alfred was an intelligent child and acquired intellectual knowledge at a young age. He went to St. Petersburg, Russia, with his father and family, where he learned the basics of machine knowledge. When they moved to St. Petersburg, he was a 16-year-old chemist and spoke English, French, German and Russian, as well as Swedish.
For a short time, St. After staying in St. Petersburg, he left his father and siblings at his father’s factory and went to Paris to study chemistry. After completing his education, he returned to work in his father’s factory, which was engaged in military production during the Crimean War. However, when the war ended and the factory could not adapt to the peace period and went bankrupt, he returned to Sweden. His brothers stayed there to save the factory.
Alfred Nobel learns to control explosives:
When Alfred Nobel returned to Sweden, he began to conduct some experiments in the laboratory in his father’s mansion. Working on black gunpowder, the only type of explosive at that time, Alfred discovered that when nitroglycerin, a newly discovered substance, was combined with black gunpowder, a much more powerful explosive emerged. He immediately opened a factory to produce nitroglycerin and started working.
Nitroglycerin is an incredibly powerful and difficult to control explosive. Alfred Nobel invented the detonator to provide control. Thanks to the detonator, the way for modern explosives was paved and Alfred opened several more factories. But things were coming and one of their factories exploded, killing a group of people, including Alfred’s brother Emil. But this explosion did not stop Alfred Nobel’s work.
Alfred Nobel, who opened several more factories in succession, invented the groundbreaking invention of dynamite when he discovered that nitroglycerin could be transported much more safely by drying it. The dynamite he patented in 1868 was much more powerful and could be detonated in a controlled manner. In the process, Alfred increased his wealth by establishing a wide network to produce dynamite throughout Europe.
Alfred Nobel’s inventions and depressive loneliness:
Alfred Nobel continued to make new inventions after the detonator and dynamite. Smokeless gunpowder, rayon and artificial leather are among his most important inventions. While Alfred’s patent and production wars continued, his brothers discovered an oil field in Azerbaijan and became rich, and together with Alfred, they bought a weapons factory in Sweden. Despite more than 350 patents and commercial successes that added to his fortune, Alfred was always an unhappy man.
Alfred Nobel was always a bit depressed and never married. In addition to his revolutionary scientific works, he wrote plays, novels, and poems that were never published. He was considered liberal and even socialist for his time. There was only one reason why he made all these deadly inventions; And that is to stop wars. He believed that his inventions would create a power that would stop wars.
It didn’t happen. How correct is it to make enormous explosives and think that they will be used for peace? Alfred Nobel, who suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of all this fast work tempo and internal conflicts, died in San Remo, Italy, on December 10, 1896. Everyone was shocked when his will, which he entrusted to a bank in Stockholm, was announced.
How did the Nobel Prizes come about?
Alfred Nobel bequeathed the establishment of a foundation on behalf of his business empire, which had more than 90 factories producing worldwide, and that this foundation would give awards every year. He prepared such a detailed will that the work of the Nobel Foundation and the Nobel Prizes still continue according to the rules stated in this will.
You ask why? In 1888, Alfred’s brother Ludvig died, and French newspapers assumed that the deceased was Alfred Nobel, so they wrote the following headline: ‘The merchant of death is dead’. Although it is not known for certain, many of his friends said that seeing his own obituary changed Alfred. Maybe he wanted to leave a cleaner name to the world.
The Nobel Prizes, which are given in 6 categories in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace, medicine and economics, were awarded for the first time on December 10, 1901. At the ceremonies held every year on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, the economics, physics and chemistry awards are determined by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the medicine award is determined by the Karolinska Institute, the literature award is determined by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and the peace award is determined by a panel of five people selected from the Swedish Academy.
The economics prize was not actually one of the prizes specified in the will, but was added to the Nobel Prizes in 1968. A reward may sometimes be given to more than one person, or if no one is suitable according to Alfred’s will, it may not be given at all. Award winners receive a special medal, diploma and monetary award. The award winner can organize a conference if he/she wishes. Between 1940 and 1942, World War II. Nobel Prizes were not awarded because of World War II.
Turks who won and were nominated for the Nobel Prize:
Yaşar Kemal is the first writer nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Yaşar Kemal was nominated for the first time in 1973 and again and again thereafter. However, he stated that no matter how many times he became a candidate, he would remain only a candidate until his death, and he was right. Leyla Erbil was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002 and became our first female writer to be nominated for this award. Poet İlhan Berk was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2008, the year he passed away.
Working on liquid metal technology in the USA, Dr. Atakan Peker, Prof. who studies heart diseases and diabetes at Harvard University. Dr. Gökhan Hotamışlıgil, Associate Professor who developed gene therapy for Alexander disease. Bahri Karaçay and Prof. who works on mobile technologies in the USA. Dr. İlhan Akyıldız is among the Turks nominated for the Nobel Prizes.
At the ceremonies held in 2006, Orhan Pamuk was deemed worthy of the Nobel Prize in Literature and achieved a first in this field. Later, at the ceremonies held in 2015, Aziz Sancar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and we were once again proud. However, as Yaşar Kemal said, such awards always have political purposes.
We answered frequently asked questions such as who is Alfred Nobel, who invented the world’s most powerful explosives, what is the story of the Nobel Prizes, and talked about the Turks who were deemed worthy of this important award and the candidates. You can share your thoughts about the Nobel Prizes in the comments.
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