Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel

The Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and other explosives, but he is best remembered for using the bulk of his personal fortune to create the Nobel Foundation, whichawards Nobel Prizes every year to those who benefit mankind.

Early life
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Immanuel and Andrietta Ahlsell Nobel. He wasoften sick as a child and had to be attended to almost constantly by his mother. He attended St. Jakob's School in Stockholm in 1841 and 1842, but then the family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia,where Nobel's father, a chemist and inventor, had established an engineering and weapons company. Nobel and his brothers received private tutoring from 1843 to 1850. In 1850 Nobel set out on a two-yeartour of western Europe and the United States, learning different languages and seeking ideas and contacts in engineering. Russia's involvement in the Crimean War (1853–56) led to great profits forNobel's father's company, but after the war ended, weapons contracts were cancelled, and Nobel's father soon lost all of his money.

Explosive discoveries

Alfred Nobel remained in Russia when hisfather returned to Stockholm in 1858. Both were doing studies of nitroglycerin, a violent explosive liquid. In 1863 Alfred rejoined his father, and in that year he succeeded in exploding nitroglycerin atwill by using gunpowder to set it off. In 1865 he introduced the use of exploding mercury to provide the charge for the blast, and this turned out to be the key to all the later high explosives. Nobelpatented his invention and traveled around trying to cash in on it. Factories built to manufacture nitroglycerin were established near Stockholm and Hamburg, Germany, and the explosive oil wasshipped around the world. In 1866 Nobel visited the United States and built factories in New York and San Francisco, California.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the Nobel companies faced growing criticism,...