alfred nobel biografia storia dinamite invenzione

Who was Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and founder of the prize that bears his name

Alfred Nobel (pronounced “Nobèl”), born in Sweden In the 1833 and died in Italy in 1896it was a chemical and a entrepreneur very successful, inventor of dynamitephilanthropist and creator of Nobel Prizes. Working on the improvement of nitroglycerin, in 1867 he patented a new explosive, the dynamitedestined for widespread distribution. He was attracted though numerous criticismsbecause his invention was also potentially a lethal instrument, and in the last years of his life he was tormented by scruples of conscience. He therefore decided that after his death almost allenormous wealth he had accumulated was to be used to finance a annual awardto be awarded to those who had distinguished themselves in five specific sectors and had thus contributed to the well-being of humanity. Even today, the scientist’s provisions are the basis of the system for awarding the Nobel Prize.

Nobel’s youth and studies on explosives

Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm In the 1833. It belonged to one well-known family of entrepreneurs and engineerscapable of designing cutting-edge tools and means and making inventions economically profitable. His father, Immanuel Nobel the Youngermoved to Russia in 1838 and started various industrial activities, designing among other things some engines for military ships and building naval mines which aroused the personal interest of the Tsar. One of Alfred’s older brothers, Ludwig Nobelis considered the father of the Russian oil industry. Together with his brother Robert, he founded the company in Baku (now in Azerbaijan). Branobelone of the most important oil companies of the time. In addition, he built ships with diesel engines, steel tankers, and Europe’s first pipeline to transport oil.

The Branobel logo
The Branobel logo

Alfred spent thechildhood in Russia with his family, studying with private tutors and showing himself particularly gifted for chemistry. In 1850 yes moved to Paris and had the opportunity to work with some important scientists, such as Théophile-Jules Pelouze and Ascanio Sobrero, involved in perfecting explosives. It should be remembered that at the time the only explosive in existence was gunpowder, invented in China in the Middle Ages; only in 1847 Sobrero managed to create a new product, the nitroglycerinwhich was more efficient than powder, but was very dangerous: it exploded too easily and, therefore, could not be used in its pure state.

Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel’s most famous invention: dynamite

Alfred Nobel stayed in Paris for two years, then lived for a period in the United States and returned to Europe in 1856. He conducted experiments to make nitroglycerin more stable and efficient and managed to invent the first relatively safe detonator. Accidental explosions often occurred during his research, one of which in 1864 cost his brother his life. Emil. The results, however, were not long in coming. In 1867 the scientist, working in Germany, managed to perfect nitroglycerin using a inert dustwhich made the explosive more stable. She was born there dynamitewhose name comes from Greek dynamics, which means power. Dynamite soon became a very explosive widespreadboth for military and civilian uses and for Nobel, who filed the patent for the invention, it guaranteed popularity and great riches.

Production of dynamite in one of Nobel's factories
Production of dynamite in one of Nobel’s factories

Why Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Prize and its institution

As the years passed, Nobel’s fortune became increasingly significant, but the criticism that the scientist attracted for having invented a instrument of death like dynamite. In 1888 an episode occurred that deeply affected Nobel. His brother Ludvig died while in Cannes, France, and a French newspaper mistakenly claimed that Alfred had died, commenting: “The merchant of death is dead.” Nobel was tormented by sincere scruples of conscience and therefore decided to donate almost all of his assets to a charitable purpose. In his will he stipulated that his estate was to be allocated almost entirely to creation of an investment fundwhich was to finance, with the interest accrued each year, a prize to be awarded to those who contributed to the progress of the hand genre in five sectors: physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. Nobel also gave precise instructions regarding the award mechanism, establishing that the choice of the person to be awarded was up to the Swedish scientific-cultural institutions and, for the peace prize only, to a commission specially appointed by the Parliament of Norway. It also provided that, when awarding prizes, it was not necessary to take into account the nationality of the candidates, but only the contribution they made to science and peace.

The will, exhibited in Sanremo in the Nobel Villa
The will, exhibited in Sanremo in the Villa Nobel

The death and legacy of Alfred Nobel

Nobel died in 1896 while in Italy, a Sanremowhere he owned a villa (still existing today and open to the public). The prize to which he had donated his assets was established a few years later: the first Nobel prizes were awarded already in 1901. Even today the prizes are based on scientist’s will: they are assigned by the institutions indicated by Nobel and financed with the interests of the investment fund created at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1969, however, another award was added, the Nobel Prize for Economicswhich was not foreseen by the scientist and is financed by the Central Bank of Sweden.