Nobel history and things to know

Few people know that the prestigious Nobel Prize honoring outstanding figures of humanity was born due to a mistake from the French press.

Learn Nobel history and surprises

From "death merchant" to Nonel prize

In 1888, when Alfred Nobel's brother Ludwig Nobel died, a French newspaper mistook the dead as a man - the Swedish businessman famous for his enormous wealth, and also the inventor of explosives. The scathing article reported that Alfred Nobel's death with the headline "Death merchant" had become a mental shock to him, still living very normally. Compressing sorrow, Nobel decided to change his fate story before it was too late.

Alfred Nobel

On November 27, 1989, Alfred Nobel went to a club that was also a bar called Swedish Norwegian in Paris (France), and began writing his will and was authenticated by four friends there. In more than 4 pages, in addition to the prayers for relatives (Alfred Nobel has no children - PV) and his employees, he wants the rest (more than 90% of assets - then worth about 31 million kronor. ) invested in a community fund with the principle: 'Funds are awarded in the form of annual awards to those who have made practical contributions to mankind in the previous year' . Specifically, Alfred Nobel's assets are invested by people in charge of investing in safe securities, forming a fund - the Nobel Fund to allocate to annual awards. The Nobel Prize was awarded in Sweden and Norway to outstanding figures regardless of country in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and especially the peace prize for ' those who have contribute to connecting brotherhood among nations, eliminating war, promoting peace '.

After Alfred Nobel died in 1896, assistant Ragnar Sohlman embarked on his execution. Until 1901, the first Nobel Prize was awarded in Sweden and Norway. Since 1968, the Swedish Central Bank has also contributed funds to award a Nobel Prize in economics. So far, Alfred Nobel's will is still kept and displayed publicly at the Nobel Museum .

The process of selecting Nobel laureates

The process of selecting Nobel laureates The Nobel Prize is awarded to individuals, held on December 10 every year. The selection of award winners began in the early fall of the previous year when organizations awarded invitations to more than 6,000 people around the world to nominate individuals worthy of receiving Nobel prizes. There are about 1,000 nominees for each award. They are the ones who have received the Nobel Prize, a member of the award organization themselves, experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, psychology or medicine, officials and members of many universities and research institutes. The invited persons must nominate in writing, clearly stating the reasons for selection.Individuals cannot nominate themselves (in stark contrast to the Ig Nobel prize).

Describe the selection process for the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The nomination must be submitted to Nobel committees before January 31 of the award year. The Nobel Committee was awarded by 4 organizations. Usually about 100-250 people are nominated for each award. On February 1, 6 the Nobel Committee - each committee decided on a type of award - began to consider the nominations they received. There are thousands of people, mostly outside experts, joining the committees to decide on the creativity and importance of the nominees' contributions.

In September and early October, Nobel committees were willing to submit their choice to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and other awarding organizations. Awarding organizations do not always follow the recommendation of the committee. The sessions and votes in the awarding organizations are kept secret at all stages. Only results are publicly announced. The final decision of the organization must be made before November 15 and cannot be changed. The award is only given to individuals, except for the Nobel Peace Prize . Nobel Peace Prize can be given to an organization.

Under the rules of the Nobel Association, the nominated information will not be disclosed, either publicly or in secret, for a period of 50 years. Cannot nominate an individual after the person has died. Since 1974, the Nobel Prize can only be awarded to one person who died in the event that the individual was chosen as the recipient of the year award at the time of life but died before the award ceremony on December 10. . Formal support, whether diplomatic or political, for someone does not affect the process of selection by awarding organizations independent of the state.

Value of Nobel prizes

Each award includes a gold medal, a certificate of merit and a sum of money. The amount depends on the income of the Nobel Association . At first, more than three people could join a Nobel Prize even though this has never happened. The charter of the Nobel Foundation was revised in 1968, restricting only 3 people to receive an award . In that case, each person can receive 1/3 of the money or 2 people can share 50% of the bonus while the third person receives the remaining 50%. Occasionally a Nobel Prize will be retained until next year. If not yet awarded, the bonus amount will be returned to the fund. Therefore, two prizes of the same type (such as 2 physical prizes) can be awarded in one year.

Reject Nobel Prize

Jean-Paul Sartre writer (1905-1980), the only person to decline the Nobel Prize for Literature

If a prize is rejected or not accepted before a certain time, the prize money will be paid to the fund . In the past, there have been cases where winners have refused to receive rewards and the government has banned citizens of their countries from receiving rewards. Then, next to the name of the recipient of the list of Nobel laureates, the words " " refuse to accept the prize ".

The motive for the Nobel prize-taking action may be different, but the real reason is mainly external pressure. In 1937, for example, Adolf Hitler banned Germans from receiving the Nobel Prize in the future because he was angry when the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to anti-fascist journalist Carl von Ossietzky. At that time, Carl von Ossietzky was a political prisoner in Germany. In some cases, people refused to explain and only received gold medals along with merit. The least controversial Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry, psychology or medicine. Due to the nature, Nobel literature and peace were the most controversial. So far, the Nobel Prize has not been awarded in 1940, 1941 and 1942. The Nobel Prize for literature was not awarded in 1914, 1918 and 1943.