Inventor. He was the inventor of dynamite, and the founder of the coveted Nobel Prize. As a young man working in his father's munitions factory, he became fascinated with the newly invented substance called nitroglycerin. Given the fact that nitroglycerin was notoriously unstable when moved, he experimented with different additives. He soon found that mixing nitroglycerin with silica would turn the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods of a size and form suitable for insertion into drilling holes for the production of stone for building construction. In 1867 he patented this material under the name of dynamite. Nobel patented the explosive he named ballistite, a derivative of dynamite, which was extensively used in bombs and cannon ordinance in the Crimean War, which consequently made him one of the world's richest men. The fact that his inventions were more valued as a tool of destruction drove him to fits of deep depression, which caused his heart to weaken. One French newspaper published an obituary for him before his death, mistaking his brother Ludvig's death for his own. They condemned him for what he had created in his life. He decided then and there to change that. He bequeathed his fortune to those who had benefited humanity through science, literature and efforts to promote peace. A chronic sufferer of chest colds, Nobel purchased a villa in the picturesque town of San Remo, Italy, where he continued chemical experiments and lived out the remainder of his life, dying on December 10, 1896. In 1901 the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded.
Inventor. He was the inventor of dynamite, and the founder of the coveted Nobel Prize. As a young man working in his father's munitions factory, he became fascinated with the newly invented substance called nitroglycerin. Given the fact that nitroglycerin was notoriously unstable when moved, he experimented with different additives. He soon found that mixing nitroglycerin with silica would turn the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods of a size and form suitable for insertion into drilling holes for the production of stone for building construction. In 1867 he patented this material under the name of dynamite. Nobel patented the explosive he named ballistite, a derivative of dynamite, which was extensively used in bombs and cannon ordinance in the Crimean War, which consequently made him one of the world's richest men. The fact that his inventions were more valued as a tool of destruction drove him to fits of deep depression, which caused his heart to weaken. One French newspaper published an obituary for him before his death, mistaking his brother Ludvig's death for his own. They condemned him for what he had created in his life. He decided then and there to change that. He bequeathed his fortune to those who had benefited humanity through science, literature and efforts to promote peace. A chronic sufferer of chest colds, Nobel purchased a villa in the picturesque town of San Remo, Italy, where he continued chemical experiments and lived out the remainder of his life, dying on December 10, 1896. In 1901 the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded.
Bio by: Ron Greenberg
Inscription
NOBEL
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Nobel memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
