Alfred Nobel's Explosions of Peace
The Story of Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel one the most impressive man from the nation of Sweden [1]. You can probably recall through his surname that he might be related to one of the most prestigious award [2] and that is exactly what he is famous for but he rather not talk about the dark history and him being somewhat of a prodigy for inventions with over 350 patents to his name (impressive). Alfred was the son of an inventor and engineer himself named Immanuel who from being very poor after various failing business ventures became a fortunate one while suppling weapons in St. Petersburg in Russia during the Crimean War. After the war his father became poor again resulting in Alfred being back home in Sweden where he was able to use nitroglycerin to make the world’s first dynamite, and as every inventor he kept on improving and making more and more lethal explosives all while he was writing poems, dramas, and advocating for world peace [3].
Alfred Nobel had 8 siblings of whom Alfred and his 3 brothers lived to adulthood why is this important you will see. The other three were named Ludvig, Robert and Emily Oskar (fancy). Robert and Ludvig stuck Gold (Oil) in Baku and the shares Alfred had in this Oilfields with his inventions earner his a huge fortune which he invested throughout the early 1890s into weapon companies such as Bofors (contradictory). Also the Oil Man, Ludvig Nobel died in 1888 in France and french being well, french thought it was Alfred and wrote “Le marchand de la mort est mort” (“The merchant of death is dead.”) this probably was the reason why Alfred Nobel established the prizes to avoid precisely this posthumous reputation suggested by this premature obituary. Approximately $160 million, was to be converted into a fund and invested in safe securities. The income generated by these investments was to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
Alfred Nobel, a man of brilliance and paradoxes, bore the weight of a somber soul. Despite his inventive genius, his creation, the dynamite perhaps cast a shadow over his achievements yet he went on to create even more devastating explosives possibly to scare the world. Will we ever know the true intentions hard to say but deep within, he carried a pessimism that fuelled him. In a french newspaper he witnessed his fate as world would see it after him an opportunity that does not come to all. Later he sought to reconcile his legacy with a world ravaged by conflict. Through his enduring pursuit, he yearned to leave a lasting mark of enlightenment in a world desperately in need of it.
[1] Other Notable People Include Anders Celsius (the surname gives it away) and Zlatan Ibrahimović (A very popular footballer).
[2] The Nobel Prize commonly thought of as the highest honour in sciences and world affairs (The Peace Prize).
[3] Alfred was an avid writer and thought that his invention’s destructive potential would be able to scare the world enough as he shared a pessimistic view of the world.