Nobel Prizes

Nobel Prizes, awards granted annually to people or institutions for outstanding contributions during the previous year in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, international peace, and economic sciences. First awarded on December 10, 1901, the prizes are funded from the interest accruing from a trust fund provided by the will of the Swedish chemist, inventor, and philanthropist Alfred Bernhard Nobel.

According to Nobel's will: “The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way: the capital, invested in safe securities by my executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses. The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or medical works by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and that for champions of peace by a committee of five people to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be a Scandinavian or not.”

In addition to a monetary award, each Nobel Prize winner also receives a gold medal and a diploma bearing the winner's name and field of achievement. The judges often divide the prize for achievement in a particular field among two or three people, although to divide it between more than three people is not allowed. If more than three people are judged to be deserving of the prize, it is awarded jointly. The fund is controlled by the board of directors of the Nobel Foundation, which serves for two-year periods and consists of six members: five elected by the trustees of the awarding bodies mentioned in the will, and the sixth appointed by the Swedish government. The six members are either Swedish or Norwegian citizens. To further the purposes of the foundation, separate institutes have been established, in accordance with Nobel's will, in Sweden and Norway for the advancement of each of the five original fields for which the prizes are awarded.

In 1968, to commemorate its 300th anniversary, the national bank of Sweden endowed The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, to be awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (formerly known as the Swedish Academy of Science). The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences also awards the prizes for physics and chemistry.

The accompanying table give the names of the Nobel Prize winners in the six categories. See also articles on individual recipients.

Reviewed by: Nobel Foundation