The Lesser Known Story about Alfred Nobel

The average educated fellow probably knows about the Nobel prizes. Some people additionally know that it was instituted in line with the will of a Swede many years ago. Alfred Nobel signed his third and last will on November 27, 1895. When it was opened, it showed that he had left much of his wealth for the establishment of a prize. Because of opposition by his family and other factors, it took another five years before the first Nobel Prize could be awarded in 1901. The Nobel prizes are given in about six categories: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

This piece was not intended as a comprehensive treatise on Alfred Nobel or the Nobel Prize as that would be a herculean task. However, I will give. A little background information to guide us to the main point of this article.
Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) was born in Stockholm, Sweden on October 21, 1833. His family, through his father, was descended from a great Swedish scientist. His father was also a scientist and an entrepreneur. Alfred Nobel had mixed experiences during his earlier years – impoverishment and prosperity. Nobel lost his bother and four others in a factory accident but Nobel was dogged and focused. Later on, the family seemed to become very successful and all the remaining children became wealthy. Although Nobel lacked formal secondary and tertiary education, he mastered six languages and studied under notable scientists of the time. He became a great inventor with a string of successful businesses in many countries. In his lifetime, Nobel had about 350 international patents and established 90 armaments factories. He was the inventor of dynamite and other more powerful explosives.

                       Alfred Nobel ("Biographical Information".
                        Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014.
                     Web. 20 Oct 2014.
                                



Nobel Prize

There has been 889 Nobel Laureates. 864 Laureates and 25 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2014. Of them, 75 are Laureates in Economic Sciences. A small number of individuals and organizations have been honoured more than once, which means that 860 individuals and 22 unique organizations have received the Nobel Prize in total. The most common fields for Physics Laureates is particle physics, for Chemistry Laureates it is biochemistry, for Medicine Laureates it is genetics and for Laureates in Economic Sciences it is Macroeconomics. The average age of all Nobel Laureates in all prize categories between 1901 and 2014 is 59 years. May 21 and 28 February are the two common dates for birthdays among the Nobel Laureates. Americans have won more Nobel prizes than other nationals. Developing countries get a bite mainly in the Literature and Peace categories. Some very young people have won Nobel prizes.

The Youngest Nobel Laureates

  

Age	Name	Category/Year	Date of birth
17	Malala Yousafzai	Peace 2014	12 July 1997
25	Lawrence Bragg	Physics 1915	31 March 1890
31	Werner Heisenberg	Physics 1932	5 December 1901
31	Tsung-Dao Lee	Physics 1957	24 November 1926
31	Carl D. Anderson	Physics 1936	3 September 1905
31	Paul A. M. Dirac	Physics 1933	8 August 1902
32	Frederick G. Banting	Medicine 1923	14 November 1891
32	Tawakkol Karman	Peace 2011	7 February 1979
32	Rudolf Mössbauer	Physics 1961	31 January 1929
32	Mairead Corrigan	Peace 1976	27 January 1944
33	Joshua Lederberg	Medicine 1958	23 May 1925
33	Betty Williams	Peace 1976	22 May 1943
33	Rigoberta Menchú Tum	Peace 1992	9 January 1959

(“Nobel Prize Facts". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 20 Oct 2014. See here for details).

Information on Nobel Laureates and country of birth can be found here.

The story

I was in a service and my Pastor mentioned it. I read more about it. I did not know this until then and many reading this piece probably do not know too. Alfred Nobel instituted the Nobel Prize because he was concerned about how he would be remembered.

Alfred Nobel saw himself as a pacifist. Although his inventions were used in mining and other industries, they also found use in arms and warfare. According to Britanicca.com, the death of his brother while visiting Cannes in 1888 caused several newspapers to publish obituaries of Alfred in error. A French tabloid stated "Le marchand de la mort est mort" ("The merchant of death is dead"). The paper stated that Alfred Nobel became rich by finding more ways to kill more people faster than ever before and condemned him for his invention of dynamite.

Alfred was not happy to know that this was the impression people had of him and how he would be remembered and decided to leave a better legacy. The rest is history.

The lessons

There are many lessons that could be drawn from Alfred Nobel’s life. My list is not exhaustive. Alfred overcame formidable obstacles to rise to fame and wealth. Never write off yourself and never allow anyone to write you off. Aim for success (of course in a good course). Be focused and resilient. Be diligent and resourceful.

Alfred considered himself a pacifist. Obviously many people did not count him serious on this. You can call yourself anything. Your work is the real testament to who you are. Character is not just about statements, it is about what you do and the life you live.

You can do something about what you want to be remembered for. You can leave a positive legacy for the future. You can make a positive impact. The best way to “spend” life is to spend it on that which outlasts life. The good you do may erase your previous ugly records in the courts of men. In the Bible account in the Daniel 4.27, Daniel counselled Nebuchadnezzar, “Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity” (KJV). There is no wisdom in continuing on a ride doomed to terminate in ignominy and destruction.

I do not know much about Alfred’s spiritual credentials though he was a Christian. I feel you should be much more concerned about how your Creator sees you and what awaits you when you leave the earthly stage as Alfred did, not just in the court of men but in the court of the eternal Judge. In the Bible, God assures that He can give a new beginning erasing the negative records stacked against you. Jesus Christ stated “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. If you trust Him and go to Him, be rest assured that you will find the words spoken by Apostle Paul true: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”.

Now, clean up you acts and step up your game. You can be another Nobel or Nobel Laureate in the making.