Editing Nobel Prize (section)

== History ==
[[File:AlfredNobel adjusted.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A black and white photo of a bearded man in his fifties sitting in a chair.|One story says that [[Alfred Nobel]] had the unpleasant surprise of reading his own obituary, which was titled "The Merchant of Death Is Dead", in a French newspaper.]]
[[Alfred Nobel]] was born on 21 October 1833 in [[Stockholm]], Sweden, into a family of engineers.<ref name="Levinovitz5">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 5.</ref> He was a [[chemist]], [[engineer]], and [[inventor]]. In 1894, Nobel purchased the [[Bofors]] iron and steel mill, which he made into a major [[Weapon|armaments]] [[manufacturing|manufacturer]]. Nobel also invented [[ballistite]]. This invention was a precursor to many smokeless military explosives, especially the British smokeless powder [[cordite]]. As a consequence of his patent claims, Nobel was eventually involved in a [[patent infringement]] [[lawsuit]] over cordite. Nobel amassed a fortune during his lifetime, with most of his wealth coming from his 355&nbsp;inventions, of which [[dynamite]] is the most famous.<ref name="Levinovitz11">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 11.</ref>

There is a popular story about how, in 1888, Nobel was astonished to read his own [[obituary]], titled "The Merchant of Death Is Dead", in a French newspaper. It was Alfred's brother [[Ludvig Nobel|Ludvig]] who had died; the obituary was eight years premature. The article disconcerted Nobel and made him apprehensive about how he would be remembered. This inspired him to change his [[Will and testament|will]].<ref name="Time">{{Cite magazine |last=Golden |first=Frederic |date=16 October 2000 |title=The Worst And The Brightest |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,998209,00.html |access-date=15 January 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415210534/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,998209,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Historians have been unable to verify this story and some dismiss the story as a myth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/news/did-a-premature-obituary-inspire-the-nobel-prize |title=Did a Premature Obituary Inspire the Nobel Prize? |last=Andrews |first=Evan |date=23 July 2020 |access-date=30 November 2023 |archive-date=10 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210194003/https://www.history.com/news/did-a-premature-obituary-inspire-the-nobel-prize |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Smiths">{{cite web|last=Schultz|first=Colin|title=Blame Sloppy Journalism for the Nobel Prizes|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/blame-sloppy-journalism-for-the-nobel-prizes-1172688/|date=2013-10-09|website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=30 November 2023|archive-date=30 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130142424/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/blame-sloppy-journalism-for-the-nobel-prizes-1172688/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 10 December 1896, Alfred Nobel died in his villa in [[Sanremo|San Remo, Italy]], from a [[cerebral hemorrhage|cerebral haemorrhage]]. He was 63 years old.<ref name="Sohlman13">[[Nobel Prize#Sohlman69|Sohlman]], p. 13.</ref>

Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime. He composed the last over a year before he died, signing it at the Swedish–Norwegian Club in Paris on 27 November 1895.<ref name="Sohlman7">[[Nobel Prize#Sohlman69|Sohlman]], p. 7.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=von Euler |first=U. S. |date=6 June 1981 |title=The Nobel Foundation and its Role for Modern Day Science |work=[[Die Naturwissenschaften]] |format=PDF |url=http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=xu7j67w616m06488&size=largest |url-status=dead |access-date=21 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714080803/http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=xu7j67w616m06488&size=largest |archive-date=14 July 2011}}</ref> To widespread astonishment, Nobel's last will specified that his fortune be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in [[physics]], [[chemistry]], [[physiology]] or [[medicine]], [[literature]], and [[peace]].<ref name="thelocal1">{{Cite web |title=Full text of Alfred Nobel's Will |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/will/will-full.html |website=Nobel Foundation |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-date=15 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815060015/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/will/will-full.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets, 31&nbsp;million SEK (c. US$186&nbsp;million, €150&nbsp;million in 2008), to establish the five Nobel Prizes.<ref name="Abrams7">[[Nobel Prize#Abrams|Abrams]], p. 7.</ref><ref name="NobelFoundationPrizeAmount">{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize Amounts |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/amounts/ |access-date=7 December 2015 |website=The Nobel Foundation |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720111123/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/amounts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Owing to skepticism surrounding the will, it was not approved by the [[Storting]] in [[Norway]] until 26 April 1897.<ref name="Levinovitz13-25">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], pp. 13–25.</ref> The [[executors]] of the will, [[Ragnar Sohlman]] and Rudolf Lilljequist, formed the [[Nobel Foundation]] to take care of the fortune and to organise the awarding of prizes.<ref name="Abrams7-8">[[#Abrams|Abrams]], pp. 7–8</ref>

Nobel's instructions named a [[Norwegian Nobel Committee]] to award the [[Peace Prize]], the members of which were appointed shortly after the will was approved in April 1897. Soon thereafter, the other prize-awarding organisations were designated. These were the [[Karolinska Institute]] on 7 June, the Swedish Academy on 9 June, and the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] on 11 June.<ref name="Crawford1">[[Nobel Prize#Crawford69|Crawford]], p. 1.</ref> The Nobel Foundation reached an agreement on guidelines for how the prizes should be awarded; and, in 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created [[statute]]s were promulgated by [[Oscar II of Sweden|King Oscar II]].<ref name="thelocal1" />

=== Nobel Foundation ===
==== Formation of Foundation ====
{{Main|Nobel Foundation}}
[[File:Alfred Nobels will-November 25th, 1895.jpg|thumb|alt=A paper with stylish handwriting on it with the title "Testament"|Alfred Nobel's [[Will and testament|will]], which stated that 94% of his total assets should be used to establish the Nobel Prizes]]
According to his will and testament read in Stockholm on 30 December 1896, a foundation established by Alfred Nobel would reward those who serve humanity. The Nobel Prize was funded by Alfred Nobel's personal fortune. According to the official sources, Alfred Nobel bequeathed most of his fortune to the Nobel Foundation that now forms the economic base of the Nobel Prize.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/about/financial-management/ |title="Financial Management" |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=8 November 2021 |website=Nobel Foundation |access-date=8 November 2021 |quote=Nobel stipulated in his will that most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 1,794 million) should be converted into a fund and invested in "safe securities". |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108223856/https://www.nobelprize.org/about/financial-management/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Nobel Foundation]] was founded as a private organisation on 29 June 1900. Its function is to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes.<ref name="Levinovitz14">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 14.</ref> In accordance with Nobel's [[Will and testament|will]], the primary task of the foundation is to manage the fortune Nobel left. [[Robert Nobel|Robert]] and [[Ludvig Nobel]] were involved in the [[oil business]] in [[Azerbaijan]], and according to Swedish [[historian]] E. Bargengren, who accessed the [[Nobel family]] [[archive]], it was this "decision to allow withdrawal of Alfred's money from [[Baku]] that became the decisive factor that enabled the Nobel Prizes to be established".<ref>{{Cite journal |date=30 April 1996 |title=Nobel Prize Funded from Baku |url=http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/42_folder/42_articles/42_readersforum.html |journal=[[Azerbaijan International]] |access-date=18 March 2019 |archive-date=11 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011202819/http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/42_folder/42_articles/42_readersforum.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Another important task of the Nobel Foundation is to market the prizes internationally and to oversee informal administration related to the prizes. The foundation is not involved in the process of selecting the [[Nobel laureates]].<ref name="Levinovitz15">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 15.</ref><ref name="Feldman16">[[Nobel Prize#Feldman|Feldman]], p. 16.</ref> In many ways, the Nobel Foundation is similar to an [[investment company]], in that it invests Nobel's money to create a solid funding base for the prizes and the administrative activities. The Nobel Foundation is [[Tax exemption|exempt from all taxes]] in Sweden (since 1946) and from investment taxes in the United States (since 1953).<ref name="Levinovitz17-18">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], pp. 17–18.</ref> Since the 1980s, the foundation's investments have become more profitable and as of 31 December 2007, the assets controlled by the Nobel Foundation amounted to 3.628&nbsp;billion Swedish ''kronor'' (c. US$560&nbsp;million).<ref name="Levinovitz15-17">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], pp. 15–17.</ref>

According to the statutes, the foundation consists of a board of five Swedish or Norwegian citizens, with its seat in Stockholm. The [[Chairman|chairman of the board]] is appointed by the Swedish [[Privy Council of Sweden|King in Council]], with the other four members appointed by the [[trustee]]s of the prize-awarding [[institutions]]. An [[Executive director]] is chosen from among the [[board of directors|board members]], a deputy director is appointed by the King in Council, and two [[deputies]] are appointed by the [[trustees]]. However, since 1995, all the members of the board have been chosen by the trustees, and the executive director and the deputy director appointed by the board itself. As well as the board, the Nobel Foundation is made up of the prize-awarding institutions (the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute, the Swedish Academy, and the [[Norwegian Nobel Committee]]), the trustees of these institutions, and [[audit]]ors.<ref name="Levinovitz15-17" />

==== Foundation capital and cost ====
The capital of the Nobel Foundation today is invested 50% in [[Share capital|shares]], 20% [[Bond (finance)|bonds]] and 30% other [[investments]] (e.g. [[hedge funds]] or [[real estate]]). The distribution can vary by 10 percent.<ref name="dn20121202">{{Cite news |last=Sjöholm/Tt |first=Gustav |date=2 December 2012 |title=Rabatter räddar Nobelfesten |language=no |trans-title=Discounts Save the Nobel Party |work=[[Dagens Nyheter (Norwegian newspaper)|Dagens Nyheter]] |url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/rabatter-raddar-nobelfesten/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 March 2019 |archive-date=6 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906065704/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/rabatter-raddar-nobelfesten/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At the beginning of 2008, 64% of the funds were invested mainly in American and European stocks, 20% in bonds, plus 12% in real estate and hedge funds.<ref name="handelsblatt2008">{{Cite web |title=Nobel-Stiftung: Noble Sorgen |trans-title=Nobel Foundation: Noble Worries |url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/journal/nachrichten/noble-sorgen;2106721;0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704211447/http://www.handelsblatt.com/journal/nachrichten/noble-sorgen;2106721;0 |archive-date=4 July 2009 |access-date=19 March 2019 |language=de |newspaper=[[Handelsblatt]]}}</ref>

In 2011, the total annual cost was approximately 120&nbsp;million [[Swedish krona|kronor]], with 50&nbsp;million kronor as the prize money. Further costs to pay institutions and persons engaged in giving the prizes were 27.4&nbsp;million kronor. The events during the Nobel week in Stockholm and Oslo cost 20.2&nbsp;million kronor. The administration, Nobel [[symposium]], and similar items had costs of 22.4&nbsp;million kronor. The cost of the [[Economic Sciences]] prize of 16.5&nbsp;Million kronor is paid by the [[Sveriges Riksbank]].<ref name="dn20121202" />

=== Inaugural Nobel prizes ===
[[File:Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad (1845-1923).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A black and white photo of a bearded man in his fifties sitting in a chair.|[[Wilhelm Röntgen]], who received the first [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] for his discovery of the [[X-ray]]]]
Once the Nobel Foundation and its guidelines were in place, the [[Nobel Committee]]s began collecting nominations for the inaugural prizes. Subsequently, they sent a list of preliminary candidates to the prize-awarding institutions.

The Nobel Committee's Physics Prize shortlist cited [[Wilhelm Röntgen]]'s discovery of [[X-ray]]s and [[Philipp Lenard]]'s work on [[cathode ray]]s. The Academy of Sciences selected Röntgen for the prize.<ref name="Feldman134">[[Nobel Prize#Feldman|Feldman]], p. 134.</ref><ref name="Leroy117-118">[[Nobel Prize#Leroy|Leroy]], pp. 117–118.</ref> In the last decades of the 19th century, many chemists had made significant contributions. Thus, with the Chemistry Prize, the academy "was chiefly faced with merely deciding the order in which these scientists should be awarded the prize".<ref name="Levinovitz77">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 77.</ref> The academy received 20 nominations, eleven of them for [[Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff|Jacobus van 't Hoff]].<ref name="Crawford118">[[Nobel Prize#Crawford69|Crawford]], p. 118.</ref> Van 't Hoff was awarded the prize for his contributions in [[chemical thermodynamics]].<ref name="Levinovitz81">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 81.</ref><ref name="Feldman205">[[Nobel Prize#Feldman|Feldman]], p. 205.</ref>

The Swedish Academy chose the poet [[Sully Prudhomme]] for the first Nobel Prize in Literature. A group including 42 Swedish writers, artists, and literary critics protested against this decision, having expected [[Leo Tolstoy]] to be awarded.<ref name="Levinovitz144">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 144.</ref> Some, including [[Burton Feldman]], have criticised this prize because they consider Prudhomme a mediocre poet. Feldman's explanation is that most of the academy members preferred [[Victorian literature]] and thus selected a Victorian poet.<ref name="Feldman69">[[Nobel Prize#Feldman|Feldman]], p. 69.</ref> The first Physiology or Medicine Prize went to the German physiologist and microbiologist [[Emil von Behring]]. During the 1890s, von Behring developed an [[antitoxin]] to treat [[diphtheria]], which until then had been causing thousands of deaths each year.<ref name="Feldman242-244">[[Nobel Prize#Feldman|Feldman]], pp. 242–244.</ref><ref name="Leroy233">[[Nobel Prize#Leroy|Leroy]], p. 233.</ref>

The first [[Nobel Peace Prize]] went to the Swiss [[Henry Dunant|Jean Henri Dunant]] for his role in founding the International [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|Red Cross Movement]] and initiating the Geneva Convention, and jointly given to French pacifist [[Frédéric Passy]], founder of the Peace League and active with Dunant in the Alliance for Order and Civilization.

=== Second World War ===
In 1938 and 1939, [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Nazi Germany|Third Reich]] forbade three laureates from Germany ([[Richard Kuhn]], [[Adolf Butenandt|Adolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt]], and [[Gerhard Domagk]]) from accepting their prizes.<ref name="Levinovitz23">[[#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 23</ref> They were all later able to receive the diploma and medal.<ref name="Wilhelm85">[[Nobel Prize#Wilhelm69|Wilhelm]], p. 85.</ref> Even though Sweden was officially neutral during the Second World War, the prizes were awarded irregularly. In 1939, the Peace Prize was not awarded. No prize was awarded in any category from 1940 to 1942, due to the [[German occupation of Norway|occupation of Norway by Germany]]. In the subsequent year, all prizes were awarded except those for literature and peace.<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Nobel Laureates |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/all/ |access-date=15 January 2010 |publisher=[[Nobel Foundation]] |archive-date=5 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605101827/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/all/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the occupation of Norway, three members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee fled into exile. The remaining members escaped persecution from the Germans when the Nobel Foundation stated that the committee building in [[Oslo]] was Swedish property. Thus it was a safe haven from the German military, which was not at war with Sweden.<ref name="Abrams23">[[Nobel Prize#Abrams|Abrams]], p. 23.</ref> These members kept the work of the committee going, but did not award any prizes. In 1944, the Nobel Foundation, together with the three members in exile, made sure that nominations were submitted for the Peace Prize and that the prize could be awarded once again.<ref name="Levinovitz23" />

=== Prize in Economic Sciences ===
{{Main|Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences}}
[[File:Worldmapnobellaureatesbycountry2.PNG|thumb|Map of Nobel laureates by country]]
After [[World War II]], [[economics]] evolved rapidly as an academic discipline and came to be increasingly recognized as a significant scientific field.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dupont-Kieffer |first=Ariane |last2=Dimand |first2=Robert W. |last3=Rivot |first3=Sylvie |date=2024-12-01 |title=Introduction to Economists at War: How World War II Changed Economics (and Vice Versa) |url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article/56/S1/1/390253/Introduction-to-Economists-at-War-How-World-War-II |journal=History of Political Economy |volume=56 |issue=S1 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.1215/00182702-11470303 |issn=0018-2702}}</ref> In 1968, Sweden's central bank, [[Sveriges Riksbank]], celebrated its 300th anniversary and donated a sum of money to the [[Nobel Foundation]] to be used to set up a new award in the field of [[economic sciences]]. The following year, 1969, the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Prize in Economic Sciences]] was awarded for the first time. [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences|The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] is required to select the economics laureate in the same way as it does for the science Nobel Prizes. The first laureates for the Economics Prize were [[Jan Tinbergen]] and [[Ragnar Frisch]], "for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes".<ref name="Feldman343">[[Nobel Prize#Feldman|Feldman]], p. 343.</ref><ref name="Levinovitz207">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 207.</ref> The board of the Nobel Foundation decided that after this addition, it would allow no further new prizes.<ref name="Levinovitz20">[[Nobel Prize#Levinovitz69|Levinovitz]], p. 20.</ref>