Swedish businessman, chemist, engineer, industrialist, philanthropist, and founder of the prestigious Nobel Prize was born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was also a poet who regarded various literary forms of expression as a method to better understand our thoughts, lives, relationships and surroundings.
Alfred Nobel is best known for his invention of dynamite and an explosive device called a blasting cap which paved the way for modern use of high explosives. He named the newly-discovered product, in 1867, dynamite which translated to “power” in Greek.
Alfred was known for his work in humanitarian and scientific philanthropies and left a bulk of his fortune in trust to establish what is now regarded as one of the most prestigious international awards, the Nobel Prize. It is believed that he wrote his will without any legal counsel.
Alfred not only became a competent chemist by age 16 but was also fluent in multiple languages like English, French, German, Swedish and Russian.
Alfred did not have the best public image. When he lost his younger brother Emil, a French newspaper confused him with Alfred and used the headline “The merchant of death is dead.” It also stated that Nobel “became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before.”
Before his death, Nobel wrote a play called Nemesis, copies of which were given to limited publications but were later said to be destroyed by his family who thought it would undermine his legacy. He died on October 10, 1896, at his villa in San Remo, Italy.
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