Nobel Prizes

Today is the awarding of the Nobel Prize in the fields of - physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.

Reference

The Nobel Prizes are prizes awarded annually to people (and, in the case of the Peace Prize, sometimes to organizations) who have completed outstanding research, invented ground-breaking techniques or equipment, or made an outstanding contribution to society in physics, chemistry, literature, peace, medicine or physiology and economics. They are widely regarded as the supreme commendation in their respective subject areas.

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Courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Nobel Prize is the brainchild of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist who was best known in his lifetime for his invention of dynamite. Upon his death in 1896, a reading of his will revealed stipulations that over 90% of his estate should be used to establish prizes in five categories: physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.

Many wonder why Nobel established the Nobel Prize. It has often been assumed that he sought to make restitution for creating dynamite. Nobel did catch a glimpse of a French obituary for himself when his brother died and a French newspaper thought Nobel had died. Among other colorful terms, the newspapers called Alfred Nobel a “merchant of death.” Thus the restitution to reward the positive aspects of the world remains the popular theory on the establishment of the Nobel Prize.

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Courtesy of wiseGEEK.

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Related Links

-http://nobelprize.org/
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize
-http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/