“Perhaps my factories will put an end to war sooner than your congresses: on the day that two army corps can mutually annihilate each other in a second, all civilized nations will surely recoil with horror and disband their troops.” - Alfred Nobel
When you hear the word Nobel, automatically your mind’s eye brings forward the award given out annually for outstanding contributions to Peace in the world, the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is of course named after its founder, Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel was incredibly inventive, ambitious and creative. He held 350 different patents for various inventions. A man dedicated to peace his whole life eventually found his fortune in the most unlikely of means, however it is this fact that is much less known. He invented dynamite. It was a premature obituary published in a newspaper, a case of mistaken identity that lit one last fire in Alfred that made him determined to change his reputation in the world’s eyes. Nobel harboured an insatiable passion for contributing to a world where harmony could triumph over discord. In a surprising act of redemption, he bequeathed the lion's share of his fortune to fund the eponymous Nobel Prizes, laying the foundation for an annual celebration of human achievement in the realms of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. Nobel's journey is a tale of paradoxes, a narrative that transcends the boundaries of conventional understanding, weaving together the strands of innovation, philanthropy, and an unwavering commitment to leaving a lasting impact on humanity.
Alfred had ambitions of becoming a writer but his father thought that a scientific career would be more practical. So he sent sixteen-year-old Alfred to apprentice in the laboratory of the noted French chemist Theophile Pelouze. It was here that he met Ascanio Sobrero, an Italian chemist, who told him about a fascinating substance he had discovered. "Pyroglycerine," Nobel learned, was an oily liquid that exploded with great vigour when detonated. Ascanio experimented and eventually produced the substance ‘Nitro-glycerine’ which was powerful but extremely temperamental and dangerous. The yellow liquid was also sensitive to shock, and it seemed to Nobel that if nitro-glycerine were to be used as an explosive, a reliable detonation system would have to be found. Alfred suggested to his father that they focus their attention on making nitro-glycerine on a large scale. Immanuel Nobel did not need much convincing because his factory in St. Petersburg, which had been very profitable during the Crimean War, now faced bankruptcy. The family moved back to Sweden and set up a factory to produce nitro-glycerine.
Almost immediately tragedy struck when an explosion killed Emil, the youngest son. Making nitro-glycerine wasn't the only problem. How to detonate it was an even bigger concern. Alfred solved this problem with his invention of the mercury fulminate blasting cap. Nobel's greatest contribution was the invention of dynamite, which safely harnessed the energy of nitro-glycerine. He had long considered the idea of mixing nitro-glycerine with some solid material with the hope of decreasing its shock sensitivity. Finally Nobel hit on a type of silica, kieselguhr which was ideal. The sticks of dynamite moulded and could be safely transported and would only explode when triggered with a blasting cap. His intention was that dynamite would have an important role to play in the construction industry. It did, it was used all over the world in building projects such as the Panama Canal and many others. It was used how, Albert envisioned it would be. However, people began to realise that it could also be used in war and it became synonymous with explosions in battle and the deaths of possibly millions of people. This horrified Nobel but there was nothing he could do about it. Except, try to make amends.
In 1888, the death of his brother Ludvig caused several newspapers to publish obituaries of Alfred in error. One French newspaper condemned him for his invention of explosives in many versions of the story, dynamite is quoted. The obituary stated, ‘The merchant of death is dead’ and went on to say, ‘Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.’, Nobel read the obituary and was appalled at the idea that he would be remembered in this way. His decision to posthumously donate the majority of his wealth to found the Nobel Prize has been credited to him wanting to leave behind a better legacy. Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality. After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel's will allocated 94% of his total assets, roughly €337 million. There's no way to know if it was a guilty conscience or the final vanity project of an obscenely wealthy industrialist but, after over 120 years, that question is academic. Regardless of his motivations, Alfred Nobel gave us an international cultural touchstone with the Nobel Prize, a prize that is arguably the most prestigious in the world.
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