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The Nobel FoundationA private institution established in 1900 based on the will of Alfred Nobel. The Foundation manages the assets made available through the will for the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. It represents the Nobel institutions externally and administers informational activities and arrangements surrounding the presentation of the Nobel Prize. The Foundation also administers Nobel symposia in the different prize areas. Alfred Nobel – Man behind the PrizesAlfred Nobel was born in 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden to a family of engineers. His family was descended from Olof Rudbeck, the best-known technical genius of Sweden's 17th century era as a great power in northern Europe. At age 9, he moved with his family to Russia where he and his brothers were given first class education in the humanities and natural sciences by private teachers. Nobel invented dynamite in 1866 and later built up companies and laboratories in more than 20 countries all over the world. A holder of more than 350 patents, he also wrote poetry and drama and even seriously considered becoming a writer. The idea of giving away his fortune was no passing fancy
for Nobel. Efforts to promote peace were close to his heart and he derived intellectual
pleasure from literature, while science built the foundation for his own activities as a
technological researcher and inventor. The PrizeThe Nobel Prize is the first international award given yearly since 1901 for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. The prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma, and a prize amount. In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) instituted the Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize 2000 - Kim Dae Jung President of South Korea 1924 - |