Home » The inventor of dynamite reads his obituary and institutes the Nobel Prize

The inventor of dynamite reads his obituary and institutes the Nobel Prize

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The story of November 27 (unless you want to talk about the debut of Explorer, which started the browser war with Netscape in 1995) is well known, but it is worth remembering because what happened that day, but exactly 100 years ago, in 1895, had many more consequences on the world and continues to have them (also because in the end the browser war will win a browser that was not yet there, Chrome).

In short, that day the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel established the prize that still bears his name: the Nobel Prize. The story that convinced him to decide to donate 94% of the patrimony every year to celebrate those who have done something great for humanity in different fields is very curious, and very instructive. He made up his mind why he read his obituary. Except that it was his brother Ludwig who died, but a French newspaper was wrong and wrote an article entitled: “The merchant of death is dead”. He went on to say, “He got rich by discovering faster ways than ever to kill and maim people.” And he understood how he would be remembered if he didn’t do something. Indeed, Alfred Nobel he was the inventor of dynamite. Dynamite and 354 other inventions that earned him as many patents. As was often the case, he was a scientist, an inventor and also an entrepreneur. He had started a company that sold weapons and ammunition. And he became very rich. In fact it should be added that there are no copies of that obituary and some believe that the story is a funny legend. The same foundation that manages the Nobel Prizes has written it clearly on several occasions: “Despite the numerous researches conducted, there is no evidence”. It was actually found a quote in Le Figaro of April 15, 1888, after the death of Alfredo Nobel’s brother: “A man who cannot easily pass for a benefactor of humanity died yesterday in Cannes. It’s Mr. Nobel, inventor of dynamite. He was Swedish ”. In short, there is no “merchant of death”, but there could be something true.

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What is certainly true is that on November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his third and final testament at the Swedish-Norwegian club in Paris. The rules that inspire the various Nobel laureates were established in that document. When it opened, 11 years later, it caused a lot of controversy, especially from family members who saw much of their wealth stolen, and it took another 5 years to the award of the first Nobel Prize, in 1901.

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