Alfred Nobel- "The founder of Nobel prize"

Birth:- 21 Oct. 1833, Stckholm, Sweden.

Father's Name:- Immanuel Nobel.

Mother's Name:- Caroline Andrietta Ahlsell

Death:- 10 Dec. 1896

Alfred Nobel, who invented the powderful explosives used in modern warfare but also established the World's most prestigious prize for intellectual services rendered to humanity.

Alfred was the third son of Immanuel and Caroline among eight children. Unfortunately four were survived. Immanuel(father) was inventor and engineer, who had invented modern plywood. Alfred was more closed with his mother and displayed a lively intellectual curiosity from an early age. He was interested in explosive and he learned the fundamentals of engineering from his father. During that period his father had failed at various business until moving in 1837 to St. Petersburg in Russia. Where Immanuel grew prospered as a manufacturer of explosive mines and machine tools. Then in 1842, Nobel family left Stockholm to join Immanuel at St Petersburg.

At the age of 16, Alfred was a competent chemist and was fluent in English, French, German, Russian, and Swedish. He left Russia in 1850 to spend a year in Paris studing chemistry and then spent four years in United States working under the direction of John Ericsson, the builder of the ironclad warship Monitor.

When he was returned to Petersburg, he worked in his father's factory. Alfred and his parents returned to Sweden, while his brothers Robert and Ludvig stayed in Russia to salvage what was left of the family business. Alfred then began experimenting with explosives in a small laboratory on his father's estate. In 1862, he built a small factory to manufacture nitroglycerin, which is so volatile so could not be handled with any degree of safty. In 1863, he invented a practical detonator. Which makes his reputation as an inventor and the fortune he was to acquire as a maker of explosives. later then he invented an improved detonator called blasting cap in 1865. But it's remained difficult to transport and extremely dangerous to handle. In fact, his nitroglycerin factory blew up in 1864, killing his younger brother Emil and several people.

Alfred never got married. He had three loves. First love was in Russia with Alexandra who rejected his proposal. Second was with Bertha Kinsky. She was his secretary but she left him and marry to her previous lover. She corresponded with him until his death. She was awarded in 1905 with the Nobel Peace Prize for her sincere peace activities. And third was with Sofie Hess from Vienna. They stayed in contact for 18 yrs and also exchanged many letters. Alfred addressed her as 'Madame Sofie Nobel'. His letters were locked within the Nobel Institute in Stockholm and become the best-kept secret of the time.

In the year 1870-80 he built a network of factories throughout Europe to manufacture dynamite. And he continued to experiment in search of better ones, and in 1875 he invented a more powerful form of dynamite, blasting gelatin which he patented. Again by chance he had discovered a tough, plastic material that has a high water resistance and greater blasting power than ordinary dynamite.

In the year 1895 Alfred had developed chest pain and he died due to cerebral hemorrhage at his villa in San Remo, Italy, in 1896. At that time, his worldwide business empire consisted of more than 90 factories. The opening of his will, which he drawn up in Paris on 27th of Nov, 1895 and had deposited in a bank in Stockholm. That contained a great surprised for his family, friends and the general public. He left the bulk of his fortune in trust to establish what came to be the most highly regarded of international awards, the 'Nobel Prize'. The prize has honored men and women for outstanding achievement in Physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and for work in peace.