Nobel, Alfred Bernhard

Nobel, Alfred Bernhard (1833-96), Swedish scientist.

Alfred Nobel's father made plywood and explosives and, after studying in Russia and the United States, Alfred went to work for him.

A powerful new explosive had just been discovered called nitroglycerine, but at first it was too dangerous to use. Alfred invented a way of exploding it safely and it was soon in great demand.

Alfred became rich from the sale of nitroglycerine but he was still not entirely satisfied with it. It was an oily liquid and it was still dangerous to move from place to place. A bump might cause it to explode and accidents were common.

Nobel began to experiment. He wanted to make a new explosive of a solid substance soaked with nitroglycerine. He tried paper, sawdust, brick dust and dry clay. None of these things was suitable for the job. Finally he tried an unusual mineral called kieselguhr which is like chalky earth and this proved suitable. Nobel called his new explosive dynamite and sold it packed in paper tubes.

He became a millionaire. When he died, he left 31,225,000 Swedish kronor (equivalent to about 1.8 billion kronor or 250 million US dollars in 2008) for five prizes to be given each year. The Nobel Prizes are awarded for work in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and the cause of peace.

See Kenne Fant Alfred Nobel: A Biography