Swedish engineer, chemist, inventor (had about 350 patents from different countries), a successful entrepreneur (his capital was invested in enterprises of more than 20 countries), founder of the international prize bearing his name.

Born into a family of inventor and entrepreneur Emmanuel Nobel, who gained almost all his knowledge through self-education. The father believed that his four sons should receive a good education and be sure to undergo an internship at his enterprises.

“According to biographers Alfred Nobel, he attended school for only a year (apparently due to poor health and the inability to stand up to his peers). At the same time, he always amazed those around him with his extraordinary and deep knowledge in various fields, especially in his knowledge of foreign languages.
Later, Alfred even wrote several works in non-native English, and his excellent ability to express thoughts in English, French and German served as an invaluable service during the period when Nobel promoted his inventions and products to the markets of other countries and independently acted as both a distributor and marketer of everything that created.
Even the father, not too inclined to give any kind of praise, openly admired his son, who, thanks to his endless thirst to catch up with his peers, turned into a living encyclopedia. Of course, it was important that by the time his sons reached adolescence, Nobel the father could already pay for their private lessons, and among the teachers were well-known scientists in the country. It is surprising that in Alfred’s troubled and receptive soul there was room for both sentimental poetry and fundamental sciences. The motivation for knowledge, in which any ideas are always rooted, came to Alfred thanks to his misfortunes - due to his morbidity and fragile sensitivity, he was always an outcast in the world of his peers.
At first she was just psychological protection, immunity against forced alienation. Over time, the boy began to notice that there were areas where he could be better than others, and even later he realized that vulnerability was not only of a physical nature. The more problems he experienced from real communication with people, the more he focused on knowledge and finding himself in scientific research. The shocks of early childhood became for young Nobel an inexhaustible source of energy and a unique fuel for will.
Life Alfred Nobel, never Not studying at a university or other higher educational institution is clear evidence that for real success, real knowledge and formal education have always been of little importance, but the greatest role in personal development has been and will always be played by orientation and the ability to be faithful to the once chosen path.”

Badrak V.V., Strategies of brilliant men, Kharkov, “Folio”, 2007, p. 137-138.

In 1866 Alfred Nobel received a new explosive substance, to which he gave the name “dynamite” (he probably relied on the results of the Russian chemist Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin). To protect his interests, he patented his rights to the invention in developed countries of the world. In 1875, Alfred Nobel invented “ballistite” gunpowder for artillery and rockets (its combustion produced a lot of gases, but did not lead to detonation).

It is characteristic that Alfred Nobel had only one assistant in his laboratory for 18 years, and always conducted all correspondence independently.

“Having correctly identified the promising direction of development, Alfred Nobel continued to build more and more dynamite factories. By the beginning of the 1890s. he already owned 93 such factories in Europe, Asia, Australia, America, Africa.”

Sokolsky Yu.M., History in stories. Heroes and Fates, St. Petersburg, “Norint”, 2003, p. 185-186.

In 1878, Alfred Nobel invents a method of continuous transportation of oil - an oil pipeline.

12 years before Nobel Prize, established by will Alfred Nobel, there was another Nobel Prize in memory of his brother - Ludwig Nobel. The prize was awarded to Russian engineers. This prize existed until 1905.

Zelenin K.N., Nozdrachev A.D. and Polyakov E.L., Three generations of Nobels in Russia. To the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Nobel Prize, “Bulletin of the RAS”, 2001, Volume 71, No. 12, p. 1098.

"On the morning of December 10, 1896 Alfred Nobel died, and died exactly as he feared most.
All alone.

The great Swede left this world, and, as a rule, the story of a person’s life ends there.

But this is not the case with Alfred Nobel.

The fact is that he, in the end, nevertheless wrote a will, although he did not tell anyone about it.

In his will, he ordered how all the money left after him should be used.
When the will was opened on December 15, it created a sensation. Alfred's multimillion-dollar fortune was to be used to form a fund, which would be managed by Ragnar Sulman.

The annual annuity was to be spent on bonuses for people who, as Alfred wrote in his will, brought the greatest benefit to humanity. Five prizes were established: in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Literature, as well as a special Peace Prize. Alfred emphasized that the awards should be international. […]

Alfred Nobel was, above all, an inventor and industrialist. In a book of this kind it is impossible to describe in detail the numerous chemical experiments and foreign enterprises of Alfred Nobel. They received 355 patents and founded 93 businesses around the world. Despite all his achievements, Alfred Nobel was not a happy man. He managed his industrial empire from rented apartments and train compartments, completely alone, without knowing marital bliss.”

Dag Sebastian Ahlander, Alfred Nobel: from poverty to the Nobel Prize, St. Petersburg, “Humanistica”, 2009, p. 105 and 107.

A talented Swedish inventor, who spent most of his life in Russia, “blew up” the world community with the invention of dynamite. In 1863, he patented the use of nitroglycerin in technology in Sweden - for the first time after eight hundred years of the dominance of black gunpowder, civilization received a new explosive! Soon - patents for a detonator, dynamite...

Alfred Nobel wanted to see the application of his scientific developments exclusively in peaceful life. Paradoxically, he also created explosives. They were adopted by the army. But creative projects with the help of his explosives quickly changed the world: rapid mining of rocks for the extraction of ores, coal, oil and gas, tunneling, and later rocket flights became possible. So the dynamite invented by Nobel was in demand all over the world, and its creator became incredibly rich in a few years. Although Alfred Nobel, being an ascetic in everyday life, spent a lot of money on the development of science, by the end of his life he had 31 million crowns left, which he donated to the creation of the Nobel Prize.

The great Swede was not deprived of a peculiar sense of humor. For example, in the last years of his life he was especially tormented by heart pain, and he remarked about his treatment: "Isn't it ironic that I was prescribed nitroglycerin! Doctors call it trinitrine so as not to scare off pharmacists and patients."

Alfred Nobel was not an exceptional case in his family - his father Immanuel, an architect, builder, entrepreneur, became famous for his inventions in various fields, and his siblings Robert and Ludwig radically re-equipped and developed the oil industry. Alfred himself filed 355 patents, including the right to the design of a gas burner, water meter, barometer, refrigeration apparatus, and an improved method for producing sulfuric acid. Alfred Nobel was a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London and the Paris Society of Civil Engineers.

Alfred was born in Stockholm, and from the age of 8 he lived with his family in St. Petersburg, therefore he considered Russia his second homeland. He spoke Swedish, Russian, English, German, Italian. A man of high education and phenomenal intelligence, Alfred Nobel officially did not have any education, not even the high school level. After self-education at home, his father sent the young Alfred on an educational journey through the Old and New Worlds. There he met prominent scientists and became infected with invention.

Returning home, he began to actively study nitroglycerin. At that time, many people died from inept handling of this hellish “oil”. Tragedy also happened to the Nobels - during an experiment, an explosion occurred and killed eight people along with the laboratory. Among the dead was a twenty-year-old boy, the younger brother of the Nobels, Emil-Oscar. Their father was paralyzed and died eight years later.

The Nobel brothers continued to be involved in science and industry. They all invested in the development of science. Especially generous - Alfred. Even for the workers at his enterprises, he created comfortable living and working conditions - he built houses, schools and hospitals, where the courtyards were decorated with fountains and flower beds; Provided employees with free transportation to work. About the use of his inventions by the military, he said: “For my part, I wish that all the guns with all their accessories and servants could be sent to hell, that is, to the most appropriate place for them.” Alfred Nobel allocated funds for congresses in defense of peace. On December 10, 1896, his life ended with a cerebral hemorrhage, this happened in the Italian town of San Remo.

Among Alfred Nobel's 355 patented inventions, there were more and less significant ones for the development of mankind. But five of them are an undoubted breakthrough in science and fundamental innovations in practical use.

1. In 1864, Alfred Nobel created a series of ten blasting caps. They differed little from each other, but detonator cap No. 8 found the widest use, and that is what it is still called, although there is no other numbering. Detonators are needed to detonate the charge. The fact is that the charges react poorly to other influences, but they are good at picking up even a tiny explosion near them. And the detonator is created in such a way that it reacts to a minor impact - a flame or even a spark, friction, impact. The detonator easily “picks up” the conditions for an explosion and brings it to the charge.

2. In 1867, Alfred Nobel curbed the uncontrollable nitroglycerine and created dynamite. To do this, he mixed volatile nitroglycerin with kieselguhr, a porous rock also called mountain flour and infusor soil. It is found in abundance at the bottom of reservoirs, so the material is accessible and cheap, but it completely suppresses the explosive nitroglycerin. The paste-like substance can be molded and transported - it does not explode without a detonator, even from shaking and arson. Its power is slightly lower than nitroglycerin, but it is still 5 times more powerful than its predecessor explosive - black powder. Dynamite was first used in the United States during the construction of the Pacific Railroad. Now the compositions of dynamites are different. They are little used in military affairs, often in the mining industry and for tunneling.

3. In 1876, Alfred Nobel obtained explosive jelly by combining nitroglycerin and deck. The mixture of two explosives created a super-explosive, superior in power to dynamite. This is a jelly-like transparent substance, which is why the first names were explosive jelly, dynamite gelatin. Modern chemists know the substance as gelignite. Kolodium is a thick liquid, a solution of pyroxylin (nitrocellulose) in a mixture of ether and alcohol. And after testing the combination of nitroglycerin with wood, experiments followed with the combination of nitroglycerin with potassium nitrate, with wood pulp. In modern production, explosive jelly is usually used as an intermediate raw material for the preparation of other explosives - ammonium nitrate and gelatin dynamite.

4. Alfred Nobel’s registration of a patent for ballistite in 1887 turned into a scandal. This is one of the first nitroglycerin smokeless powders, consisting of powerful explosives - nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. Ballistites have been used to this day - they are used in mortars, artillery pieces, and also as solid rocket fuel if a little aluminum or magnesium powder is added to them to increase the heat of combustion. But ballistite also has a “descendant” - cordite. The difference in composition is minimal and the preparation methods are almost identical. Nobel assured that the description of the production of ballistite also included a description of the production of cordite. But other scientists, Abel and Dewar, indicated a type of substance with a volatile solvent that was more convenient for the production of cordite, and the right to invent cordite was assigned to them by the court. The final products, ballistite and cordite, have a lot in common in their properties.

5. In 1878, Alfred Nobel, while working at a family oil production company, invented an oil pipeline - a method of continuous transportation of a liquid product. It was built, like everything progressive, also with a scandal, because the oil pipeline, although it reduced the cost of production by 7 times, but unprecedentedly reduced the jobs of carriers of oil in barrels. The construction of the Nobel oil pipeline was completed in 1908, and dismantled not so long ago, that is, it served for more than a hundred years! And when its construction began, oil production was in its infancy - the product flowed by gravity from wells into earthen pits. It was scooped out of the pits in buckets into barrels, which were transported on carts to sailing ships, then along the Caspian Sea and the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod, and from there throughout Russia. Ludwig Nobel installed steel tanks instead of pits and invented the cistern and tanker, which still serve industrialists today. Based on the ideas of his brother Alfred, he built steam pumps and applied new methods of chemical oil purification. The product is of excellent quality, the best in the world, truly “black gold”.

An unusual monument was erected on Petrogradskaya Square in St. Petersburg. It is a bronze tree of a bizarre shape, the roots of which go into granite. A large bird sits in the branches. On the edge of the pedestal there is the inscription Alfred Nobel. The biography of this person is filled with a variety of events. Let's look at some of them.

Memorable place

The embankment on the Vyborg side is directly related to the life and work of Alfred Nobel. Until 1999, a world-famous engineering plant was located here. It was founded in 1862 by Ludwig Nobel. Alfred - a great scientist - is his younger brother. The family stayed in Russia for quite a long time. The father, together with his sons, was engaged in the industrial production of engines, components for mechanisms and machines. They also worked in the oil sector. They established the extraction, processing and transportation of raw materials. The family took an active part in equipping the Russian fleet and army with shells, mines, and bombs. Meanwhile, the Nobels were involved not only in commerce. They also devoted a lot of money and effort to charitable causes. They established various scholarships, financed research, and maintained medical, cultural and educational institutions.

Family

The future great scientist spent his childhood in Stockholm. His father was Emmanuel Nobel. By 1842, Alfred was one of 4 children who survived when they arrived in Russia. The need to move was due to the plight of the family. My father was very talented. He understood construction, architecture and many other areas. He tried his best to provide for his family. The latest attempt was the opening of an enterprise for the production of elastic fabrics. However, things did not work out, so the family moved first to Finland, which was part of Russia at that time, and then to St. Petersburg. I actually grew up here Alfred Nobel. Nationality did not prevent him from subsequently achieving outstanding success.

Stay in Russia

At that time the Empire was on the rise. The era of formation and development of industry began in Russia. The family got used to the new place quite quickly. My father began producing lathes and equipment for them. In addition, he was engaged in the production of metal casings for mines invented by him. The family settled in a large house. Teachers were hired for the children. All of Emmanuel's sons were hardworking and talented people. From an early age he showed a love for work and Alfred Nobel. Interesting Facts about his early years can be found in various sources. In one of them, for example, it is indicated that the future scientist was fluent in several languages. Among them were Russian, English, German and French. At the age of 17, Alfred headed to the USA, Germany and France. For three years he continued his education.

Alfred Nobel: biography of a scientist

After three years of study abroad, he returned to Russia and got a job at his father’s company, which produced ammunition for the Crimean campaign. At the end of the war in 1856, the manufactory required urgent reorganization. This was done by brothers Robert and Ludwig. The parents and their younger children returned to Sweden. A new era for the family began in Stockholm. The parents settled on an estate in the suburbs of Stockholm. An experimental laboratory was created here. The elder Nobel conducted his experiments with detonation there. Alfred soon joined his father in research. Black powder was used as the only explosive at that time. At the same time, the properties of nitroglycerin have already been described. It was first synthesized in 1847 by the Italian chemist Ascaño Sobrero. However, it was impossible to use nitroglycerin as intended. The danger lay in the rapid transition of the substance into an explosive gas from any state.

First achievements

The bulk of the experiments were carried out by Emmanuel Nobel. Alfred first looked for sponsors. In 1861 the philanthropist was found. He gave the researchers 100 thousand francs. It is worth saying, however, that Alfred was not particularly interested in working with explosive compounds. But at the same time, he could not refuse his father’s help. After 2 years, Alfred Bernhard Nobel created the first device that makes it possible to safely work with nitroglycerin. The substance was placed in a separate, sealed container. The detonator was placed in the next compartment - the capsule, which was later cast from metal. The created device almost completely eliminated the possibility of a spontaneous explosion. With its subsequent improvement, black powder began to be replaced with mercury. During one of the experiments, an explosion occurred, which killed 8 people, including Alfred's younger brother, Emil. The father took the death of his son very hard. Some time later, there was a stroke that confined him to bed for almost 7 years. Emmanuel Nobel was never able to get back on his feet and died in 1872 at the age of 71.

Love of books

Alfred Nobel was noted for his love of reading. In his library he included not only scientific works of various authors, but also classical works. Nobel was very fond of French and Russian writers. Among them were Hugo, Balzac, Maupassant. Nobel read Turgenev's novels in both Russian and French. It is worth saying that he was not only a chemist, but also a philosopher. Nobel had a doctorate.

Writing

Alfred Nobel also showed interest in him. Dynamite, a substance he patented, was not the goal of all his activities. In general, we can say that commerce was a means of subsistence, and not a favorite pastime. It is quite possible that he would have become a writer. Unfortunately, only one of his works has survived - a play in verse about Beatrice of Chechnya ("Nemesis").

Work after father's death

All, what Alfred Nobel invented, brought him a lot of income. At the same time, he himself exercised control over technological processes, selected personnel for the enterprise, and corresponded with partners. Nobel showed exceptional responsibility. He monitored accounting operations, advertising campaigns, product sales, and participated in negotiations with suppliers. Alfred Nobel's inventions used in a wide variety of industrial sectors. At the same time, the scientist saw great prospects in the use of explosive compounds for peaceful purposes. Thus, Nobel's dynamite was used in the mountainous region of Sera Nevada to lay railroad tracks.

First foreign enterprise

It was founded in 1865. The main office was in Hamburg. It is worth saying that working with explosive compounds is never without accidents. The new enterprise was no exception. Nobel was forced to constantly address security issues. His greatest desire was to create explosives that would be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.

Trip to America

Nobel went to the USA in 186. Here he wanted to found a new enterprise. However, the business world did not really please the entrepreneur. He was of the opinion that local businessmen were too keen on getting money. Because of this, the pleasure of communicating with them was lost. The actions taken by American businessmen dimmed the joy of cooperation and constantly reminded them of their true goals.

Successful experiment

In 1867, safe explosives were finally created. Nobel patented dynamite. It was a powder containing nitroglycerin and a chemically inert substance. The latter was the mineral kieselguhr. These are the fossilized remains of a diatom (sea plant). Dynamite was poured into drilled holes and exploded using a cord connected to a detonator. This allowed a person to be at a safe distance from the epicenter. Nobel's invention is still used in various fields today.

Ballistitis

He became the next discovery. After dynamite, explosive jelly was created. It was a mixture of gunpowder and nitroglycerin. Subsequently, Nobel created ballistite - a smokeless explosive. A few years later it was improved by Ael and Dewar. They created cordite based on ballistite. The scientists patented their invention as a novelty. However, this was incorrect, since its basis was ballistite. Nobel tried to challenge the patent in court, but the English government opposed it, and the scientist lost. It is worth saying that he often had to enter into such conflicts.

Public views

Nobel opposed granting voting rights to women. He expressed great doubts about the wisdom and effectiveness of the democratic model. At the same time, Nobel was against despotism. The workers of his enterprises were socially protected many times better than the staff of other owners. Nobel believed that a well-educated, well-fed and healthy person with high moral principles would bring much more benefit to the cause than a grossly exploited mass of illiterate people. He spent a lot of money on creating conditions for normal work. He paid special attention to security measures. Contemporaries called him a socialist. Although he didn’t consider himself that way.

Good of society

Nobel believed that all his inventions should be used for peaceful purposes. In the second half of the 19th century, the steam engine was created. Its appearance gave a huge impetus to the development of the economy. As a result, railways began to be built everywhere and tunnels were made. All of these works used Nobel's dynamite. The explosive was used to clear canals and deepen the bottom of reservoirs when laying shipping routes. If we talk about the military sphere, Nobel believed that if both sides had the same weapons, then there would be no clashes.

Error in obituary

At the beginning of his career as an industrial magnate, Nobel did not plan to bequeath his capital to charitable causes. However, his views changed in his declining years. Ludwig died in 1888. The newspapers mistakenly reported Alfred's death. At the same time, he was called a merchant of death, a man who made his fortune from blood. These messages greatly shocked Nobel's mother. She fell ill and died a year later. Of course, Alfred himself also could not remain indifferent to the articles. He moved to Italy. There Nobel settled in San Remo, in a secluded villa. On it he equipped a laboratory and conducted experiments on the synthesis of artificial silk and rubber.

Last will

During his years in San Remo, the scientist and entrepreneur began to think about how to manage his fortune. By that time, a reliable enterprise management system was in place, and profit distribution was controlled. Overseeing all this himself is considered the key achievement of this man. In his last will, he indicated that most of his fortune should go to rewards great scientists and people whose activities are aimed at strengthening peace. 31 million Swedish marks - the amount allocated for this Alfred Nobel. Nobel Prize was established in the fields of chemistry, physics, medicine/physiology. A reward was also given to the person who created an outstanding literary work. A fifth should be given to someone who made a significant contribution to the abolition of slavery, the unity of peoples, the promotion of peace and the reduction of the number of armies. Alfred Nobel's will contained his special wish. He pointed out that the reward should be given to a person regardless of his nationality. That is, the main criterion should be achievement, and not belonging to any country.

Women

Of course, the personality of this man aroused great interest among his contemporaries. And if everyone knew about his entrepreneurial and scientific activities, the intimate side was carefully hidden from outsiders. It is not even possible to establish from existing sources whether Alfred Nobel was married. This man's personal life, however, took place. His first love was Anna Desri. She was the daughter of a pharmacist. There is evidence that Nobel even wanted to get married. There are two versions explaining the reasons that the marriage did not take place. According to one of them, Anna fell ill and died. According to another, she started an affair with a certain Lemarge, a mathematician. According to rumors, this is precisely the reason for the absence of achievements in this discipline in the premium set. Another woman for whom the scientist had tender feelings was Sarah Bernhardt. Nobel saw her at a performance and fell in love. Another woman who captivated Nobel was Sophie Hess. She was only 20. She worked in a flower shop. This novel might not have been known if Hess had not made a claim to the inheritance after Nobel’s death. According to sources, she was in his custody for 19 years. Hess introduced herself to her neighbors as Madame Nobel. However, the relationship was not officially registered. In 1876, Nobel met Bertha Kinski. They could well have gotten engaged, but for unknown reasons this did not happen. It is known that it was Bertha who inspired Nobel to establish the prize. It is worth saying that they maintained good relations until the very last day of his life. Bertha Kinski was among the first people to receive the Peace Prize. She actively participated in the cause of preserving humanity from the beginning of the Third World War.

Almost all people in the world know about Alfred Nobel today. His famous Nobel Prize is sought by researchers and scientists. This is how this amazing man entered world history.

Although many also know that the great Alfred Nobel also invented dynamite during his lifetime. Nobel's biography is an interesting story of the life of an inventor and personality.

On October 21, 2833, the future famous chemist and inventor, engineer and founder of a huge world-scale prize, Alfred Bernhard Nobel, was born in the Swedish city of Stockholm. The biography of this interesting person surprises many biographers to this day.

Alfred was born to the family of Emmanuel and Andrietta Nobel, who had a total of eight offspring. But only four remained alive: Alfred, Robert, Emil and Ludwig.

Although later, at the age of twenty, during experiments with dynamite discovered by Alfred Nobel, another son of the Nobel couple, Emil, dies. This grief paralyzes the father of the family and leaves a deep, bitter mark in the soul of Alfred himself. But he still does not give up his ideas and makes discoveries one after another.

Key dates in the life of the founder of the famous Nobel Prize

A brief biography of Alfred Nobel can be represented by the following main events:

• 1842 - the Nobel family moved to St. Petersburg. Alfred Nobel develops the idea of ​​​​producing torpedoes.
• 1849 - Alfred Nobel begins to study in Europe and America. For two years the young man travels around the world, visiting Denmark, Italy, Germany, France, and then America.
• 1851 – return to Russia. Alfred Nobel becomes a manufacturer, fulfilling orders from the Russian army.
• 1853 - The Crimean War helps the Nobel family business to make good profits and enter a time of prosperity.
• 1859 - Ludwig Emmanuel Nobel becomes a manufacturer. Due to the bankruptcy of the family business, Alfred returns to Sweden with his father and begins to work closely on explosives. At the same time, he received a loan of 100 thousand francs and began research work in the field of chemistry, conducting experiments and inventing new elements, compounds and mixtures.
• 1868 - Alfred Nobel discovers dynamite, consisting of a mixture of nitroglycerin with other substances that have the ability to absorb it.
• 1876 ​​- discovery of “explosive jelly” - a combination of nitroglycerin with collodion. This “jelly” had a stronger explosiveness than the previously discovered dynamite. The following years were full of discoveries of other combinations of nitroglycerin with substances. The first smokeless powder, called ballistite, was a huge leap forward that dynamite left far behind. Ballistitis is followed by the discovery of cordite.
• 1889 – participation in the World Peace Congress.
• 1894, 1895 - legal proceedings over Nobel's statement that cordite was already included in his previously registered patent of discoveries.
• 1896, December 10, villa in San Remo in Italy - Alfred Nobel died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of sixty-three. Nobel's grave is located in Stockholm's Norra Begrävningsplatsen cemetery.

This is the fate of Alfred Nobel, presented in a short biography of the greatest world-famous man.

Interesting but little known fact

Few people know, but Alfred Nobel not only invented dynamite and established a personal prize, he revealed his dramatic talent. True, the biography of Nobel the playwright cannot boast of an extensive list of works he created. The bulk of the works he wrote - novels, poems, plays - were never published. Only one work is known - a play about Beatrice Cenci called “Nemesis”, which he completed before his death.

This tragedy in four acts was met with hostility by the clergy, so the entire circulation of the publication, published in 1896, was destroyed after Nobel’s death, with the exception of three copies.

But, fortunately, in Sweden in 2003 a bilingual edition of the play was published, written in both Swedish and Esperanto. And in 2005, the world had the good fortune to get acquainted with this work, played on the Stockholm stage in memory of the great scientist on the day of his death.

This fact speaks volumes about how versatile this amazing man Alfred Nobel was. And it will seem quite surprising to many that the famous inventor and chemist was seriously thinking about giving up his research and experiments and taking the path of writing.

I wonder if the world's population would have benefited or lost then? After all, perhaps dynamite would not have been invented then or would have been invented much later. And instead we would receive many talented works of the highest level...

The character of a world-famous person

Alfred Nobel surprised his contemporaries with his controversial character. Not everyone understood his paradoxical behavior. Being quite wealthy, Alfred gravitated towards a Spartan lifestyle and longed for solitude. Indeed, in the era of developing capitalism, many successful businessmen were not like that.

However, fate seemed to deliberately place him in conditions that disgusted him. Life forced Nobel, who could not stand the hustle and bustle of the city, to spend most of his time in cities. Being a homebody and preferring to think in quiet solitude, Alfred Nobel spent a lot of time traveling around the world.

Working on explosives and mixtures, Alfred Nobel was opposed to murder and violence, and carried out enormous work in the name of peace on earth. But the fact remains: dynamite was discovered by him.

Alfred Nobel surprised his contemporaries by leading a healthy lifestyle, as they would say today. He had a negative attitude towards alcohol, smoking, gambling.

At that time, the bigwigs, by and large, were doing two things: making money without thinking about its “smell,” and spending millions, trying to “get everything they can from life.” Alfred Nobel, preferring solitude, loved to read. His luxurious library contained the works of great scientists of that time. Nobel Alfred read with pleasure his contemporaries: Maupassant, Balzac, Turgenev, Hugo.

The naturalism that was fashionable at that time, inherent in the writing of Emile Zola, was not to Nobel’s taste. But he could re-read the works of philosophers of all times several times, thinking about this or that position and making his own unique notes and developments on this or that issue. After all, Alfred Nobel himself was not only a chemist, but also a doctor of philosophy.

In memory of discoveries

Alfred Nobel, inventing dynamite and other explosive mixtures, was an ardent pacifist. He saw a different application for his discoveries, which would help develop progress for humanity, and not kill each other. But the persecution that began in the media over the fact that Alfred Nobel was able to invent dynamite pushed him to the idea that he needed to leave another bright mark in this world.

So the inventor came to the decision to establish a personal prize after his death, writing a will on November 27, 1895, according to which most of his accumulated fortune - 31 million crowns - goes to the Nobel Prize fund. This fact of Nobel's life made his biography a historical milestone on a global scale.

In addition to the well-known Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel entered world history as the discoverer of the chemical element, which was named Nobelium in his honor.

Dnepropetrovsk University and the Stockholm Institute of Physics and Chemistry are named after the great chemist.

Alfred Nobel is best known as the founder of the Nobel Prize Foundation, which bears his name and brought him worldwide fame. Nobel was an academician, Ph.D., inventor of dynamite, chemist and businessman.

Alfred was born on October 21, 1833 in the capital of Sweden. He was the third son in the family of Andrietta and Emmanuel Nobel. Alfred had seven brothers and sisters, but only three survived. In 1842, Emmanuel got a job developing torpedoes in the Russian Empire, so the entire Nobel family moved to live in St. Petersburg. Soon, Alfred's father decided to send his son to study in Europe, so a year later Nobel, at the age of 16, left Russia.

For two years he visited America, Italy, France, Germany and Denmark, after which he returned back to Russia. He became involved in the affairs of factories owned by his family, which produced weapons for the Russian army. After bankruptcy in Russia, Alfred and his father returned to Sweden, where the young Nobel began to seriously study explosives, and in particular the use and safe production of nitroglycerin.

In 1868, he received a patent for dynamite, which he invented using nitroglycerin in combination with substances capable of absorbing it. Alfred gave numerous public demonstrations of the substance he discovered, and also gave lectures on the principles of its operation. Thanks to this, interest in Nobel's discovery constantly increased.

The next discovery of the scientist was the substance explosive jelly, which has an even higher explosiveness than dynamite. A patent for explosive jelly was received in 1876.

A couple of years later, Alfred and his assistant invented ballistite, which became one of the very first smokeless powders made from nitroglycerin. Almost immediately after the appearance of this powder, another substance appeared - cordite. Nobel claimed to have invented both substances, but ultimately only received a patent for ballistite.

Alfred Nobel accumulated quite a large fortune from a patent for the production of dynamite and other explosives he invented, as well as from the development of oil in the fields of Baku. Nobel also tried himself as a playwright. He wrote his only play, Nemesis, while he was dying. The entire edition, published in 1896 in Paris, with the exception of three copies, was destroyed because the church did not approve of the play. In 2003, a new edition was made based on one of the surviving publications, and in 2005, on the day of the scientist’s death, the play premiered in Stockholm.

The erroneous news of his own death, published in newspapers in 1888, greatly influenced Nobel. After reading what words he was called in printed publications (“dynamite king”, “millionaire on blood”, “merchant of death”), Alfred decided to take measures in order not to remain in history as a world villain. It was then that Nobel decided to create a legacy, the value of which would glorify his name for centuries.

In 1895, on November 27, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club of Paris, Alfred drew up his will, in which he gave most of his fortune to award prizes for scientific achievements, regardless of nationality. The Nobel Prize fund at that time was 31 million crowns.

The famous scientist died in Italy at his Villa San Remo on December 10, 1896. The cause of his death was a cerebral hemorrhage; at that time he was 63 years old. Alfred Nobel's body is buried in Stockholm's Norra Begravningsplatsen cemetery.

After Nobel’s death on October 21, 1991, by decision of the Nobel Foundation, a bronze monument to this great scientist was erected on Petrogradskaya Embankment near the Nakhimov School, as a memory of him and his years spent in Russia.

Translator