Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist and inventor who amassed a huge fortune by inventing explosives and other types of explosives. Here are 10 interesting facts about Alfred Nobel's life, achievements, and inventions.
#1 His father, Emanuel Nobel, was a highly skilled engineer and inventor
Alfred Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the fourth of eight children of Emanuel Nobel and Carolina Andrete Nobel. Emanuel Nobel is famous for inventing the rotary lathe used to make modern plywood. When Alfred was young, his family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where his father became a successful manufacturer of machine tools and explosives.
Father of Alfred Nobel
#2 He is very interested in the study of explosives
Alfred left Russia at the age of 18. He studied chemistry in Paris for a year and then in the United States for four years. Alfred was interested in nitroglycerin, a highly explosive liquid that was too dangerous for practical use. After returning to Russia after completing his studies, Alfred worked with his father to develop commercial value for nitroglycerin.
Nobel in his youth
#3 His brother Emile died in an explosion caused by nitroglycerin
In 1863, Alfred Nobel and his parents returned to Sweden. On September 3, 1864, when Alfred was 29 years old, a huge explosion of nitroglycerin occurred at the family's Swedish factory, killing five people, including Alfred's brother Emir. However, this did not stop Nobel from continuing to work on explosives, especially how to make nitroglycerin safer to manufacture and use.
His younger brother Emile died in an explosion caused by nitroglycerin
#4 Alfred Nobel was the inventor of explosives
Alfred Nobel invented explosives in Gstacht, Germany, and applied for a patent in 1867. This was the first type of explosives to be safe and controllable. In explosives, nitroglycerin is incorporated into an absorbent inert substance, making it safer and easier to handle. Initially Nobel considered naming it "Nobel's safe powder", but eventually named it explosives after the Greek word for "power".
The explosive invented by Nobel
#5 He made a lot of money by inventing Gelignite
Nobel continued to combine nitroglycerin with other compounds. In 1875, he invented Geignite or blast gelatin, which is easy to mold, safer to operate without protection, and is a more powerful explosive than explosives. Patented in 1876, blasting gelatin was adopted as a standard technology for mining during the engineering era, bringing great economic success to Nobel.
Blasting gelatin invented by Nobel
#6 Alfred Nobel holds 350 patents and has built 90 armaments factories
During his lifetime, Nobel issued 350 patents internationally. In 1857, he applied for his first patent for a gas meter. His inventions included detonators, blast caps, and ballistic stones, precursors to many modern smokeless gunpowder explosives that are still used as rocket propellants today. Nobel also built 90 armaments factories at the time of his death. He is the founder of Dynamit Nobel, a chemical and weapons company.
Portrait of Nobel in his old age
#7 Alfred Nobel is known as the Merchant of Death
In 1888, Alfred's brother Ludwig died in France, and a French newspaper mistakenly published Alfred's obituary. Headlined "The Death Merchant Dies," the report went on to say "Dr. Alfred Nobel got rich by trying to kill more people faster than ever before, and he died yesterday." Nobel was known as the Merchant of Death because he made his fortune through explosives, which were used in warfare to kill many people.
#8 Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Prize through his will
After reading his obituary, Nobel began to worry about how he would be remembered after his death. On November 27, 1895, Nobel signed his last will, leaving 94 percent of his total assets, or SEK 31,225,000 (equivalent to today's 1.6 billion yuan), to reward researchers who had made outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, and literature, and who had worked for the peace of mankind.
Nobel Prize Medal
#9 His ex-girlfriend, Bertha Kinsky, persuaded him to list the Peace Prize as one of the Nobel Prizes
Although Nobel had a brief association with Bertha Kinski, Bertha later married Baron Arthur Gundaka von Sutner. Kinsky corresponded with Nobel until his death, and she is said to have had a major influence on Nobel's decision to include the Peace Prize in his will. In 1905, she became the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ms. Bertha Kinsky
#10 The synthetic element beryllium (NOBELIUM) is named after him
On December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel died of a stroke in Sanremo, Italy. Although he has been in several relationships, he has never been married. Just before his death, he wrote a tragedy called The Goddess of Vengeance. In 1901, five years after his death, the first Nobel Prize was awarded. The synthetic element beryllium is named after him. The Alfred Nobel Monument in St. Petersburg, Russia, was built in his honor.