The newspaper reported the death of Alfred Nobel on April 13, 1888. The newspaper called him a person who traded in death, because he had developed and sold explosives. In fact, Alfred Nobel’s business had made him a very rich man. The newspaper story continued, giving Alfred Nobel’s age, nation, and other information about his business. However, the words about “trading in death” were all that the 55-year-old man read.
Alfred Nobel put down the newspaper sadly. No, he wasn’t dead — his brother Ludwig had died, and the French newspaper had made a mistake. All the same, Alfred Nobel was worried. Was this the way the world was going to remember him? He did not like that idea at all. He had spent his life working for peace in the world, and hated war. He created his explosive to save lives — lives that were lost because other explosives were dangerous to use. He wanted people to remember him as a man of peace.
Alfred Nobel invented his explosive at a perfect moment in time. Many countries were beginning to build roads through mountains, and needed a safe, strong explosive. Alfred Nobel’s explosive was developed for such peaceful uses. He also thought that if all countries had the same great weapons, they would see how impossible war was — that any country fighting a war would surely be destroyed. There would be no more wars. Many people of his day also thought this way.
Nobel was worried about the way the world looked at him, but he did not know what to do. He wanted to think of the best way for people to use his money after his death. Then, in l895, a man made plans for a journey to the North Pole. Nobel read about the plan, and at last he knew what to do with his money. He decided that after he died, his money should be used for a prize to honor people who did great things in science, writing, and world peace. Men or women of any country might receive the prize.
Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896, at the age of 63. He was unmarried and had no children. People all over the world wondered who was going to get Nobel’s money. They were very surprised when they learned of Alfred Nobel’s plan to award prizes every year in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, and they very soon became the greatest honor that a person could receive in these fields. In 1969, an award for economics was added.
The report of Alfred Nobel’s death had been a mistake, but the decision that he made as a result finally gave him what he wanted. Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Prize, and now the world thinks of him the way he wanted to be remembered: Alfred Nobel, a man of peace.
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