In liis will,
he left his fortune to create the Nobel Prize.
Nobel wanted people to remember him as a
man of peace, but in his lifetime he was most
famous for building weapons of war.
Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 in
Stockholm, Sweden. His father, Immanuel,
was an inventor. After Alfred was born, his
father went to Russia to work. He worked
with the government and made machinery
and explosives. Several years later,
Immanuel moved his family to Russia.
Alfred and his two older brothers were
interested in science and enjoyed
watching their father in the laboratory.
When Alfred was 17 years old, he traveled to the United States and several European countries to study. Then he returned to Russia to work with his father and his brothers. They worked on explosive weapons for the Russian military. At that time, the military used only one type of explosive—gunpowder. Then a chemistry professor showed the Nobels a heavy, oily liquid they could use in their work. It was called nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin was a powerful explosive, but it was dangerous to work with. Alfred and his father experimented with nitroglycerin.
Finally, in 1863, Alfred merchant of death." This upset Alfred very much. He wanted people to remember him as a man of peace. Seven years later he wrote out his will and created the Nobel Prize. When he died in 1896, people called his will the greatest gift ever made by one person. Since 1901, invented a way to make it more safe. Scientists everywhere praised his work. Nitroglycerin had many good uses. Workers used it to build roads through mountains and to construct mines deep in the earth. Nobel's invention was not perfect, however. Nitroglycerin exploded if someone dropped it or used it incorrectly. Sometimes it leaked from the cans. Sometimes workers used the oily liquid on wheels or to clean their shoes! This often caused accidents and injuries. After a while, some governments started to ban nitroglycerin because it was dangerous.
When Alfred was 17 years old, he traveled to the United States and several European countries to study. Then he returned to Russia to work with his father and his brothers. They worked on explosive weapons for the Russian military. At that time, the military used only one type of explosive—gunpowder. Then a chemistry professor showed the Nobels a heavy, oily liquid they could use in their work. It was called nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin was a powerful explosive, but it was dangerous to work with. Alfred and his father experimented with nitroglycerin.
Finally, in 1863, Alfred merchant of death." This upset Alfred very much. He wanted people to remember him as a man of peace. Seven years later he wrote out his will and created the Nobel Prize. When he died in 1896, people called his will the greatest gift ever made by one person. Since 1901, invented a way to make it more safe. Scientists everywhere praised his work. Nitroglycerin had many good uses. Workers used it to build roads through mountains and to construct mines deep in the earth. Nobel's invention was not perfect, however. Nitroglycerin exploded if someone dropped it or used it incorrectly. Sometimes it leaked from the cans. Sometimes workers used the oily liquid on wheels or to clean their shoes! This often caused accidents and injuries. After a while, some governments started to ban nitroglycerin because it was dangerous.
The Nobels continued to experiment to
make nitroglycerin safer. Unfortunately, in
September 1864, Alfred's brother, Emil, was
killed in an explosion in their laboratory.
After the accident, Immanuel had a stroke
and was paralyzed. He died eight years
later, on the same day Emil had died.
Alfred Nobel wanted to make
nitroglycerin safe. He built a new laboratory
and continued his work. In 1867, he
discovered a new material to mix with the
nitroglycerin. This material made the
nitroglycerin safer and more effective. He
called his new invention "dynamite."
Nobel built factories all over the world.
He continued his experiments and
developed new and more powerful
explosives.
He also became interested in
weapons. He developed a new type of
gunpowder as well as other materials. Nobel
became very wealthy Many people said he
was a bad person because he invented
destructive weapons. But he believed that
nations would stop wars if they had
weapons that could destroy each other.
In 1888, Alfred Nobel's older brother,
Ludwig, died. A newspaper story confused
him with Alfred and called him "the men and women from around the world
have received Nobel Prizes for their great
achievements. People everywhere now
remember Alfred Nobel for his efforts to
make the world a better and more
peaceful place.
