1-157-623 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and inventor. In 1866 Swedish chemist and industrialist Nobel (1833-1896) invented a safe and manageable form of nitroglycerine he called dynamite. Later, he invented smokeless gunpowder and gelignite (1875). Nobel helped to create an industrial empire manufacturing explosives and amassed a large fortune, much of which he left to fund the Nobel Prizes, which were first awarded in 1901. Awards were given for excellence in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.