History of the Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize are annual awards which are regarded very prestigious and respectable.
They are prizes given to those who have accomplished intellectual achievements in the domains of: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, Literature, and Peace. The Nobel Prize for Economics was added in 1969.
This award was invented by Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel, who, in his will, instructed that the majority of his fortune be given as an award to the Nobel Prize winners, stating: “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”
The “Nobel Foundation” was created in order to carry out Nobel’s will. Nobel further stated in his will that the conditions are that three Swedish and one Norwegian institution should deliver the prizes:
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences concerns itself with the prizes of Physics, Chemistry, and Economics.
The Karolinska Institute concerns itself with that of Physiology/Medicine
The Swedish academy concerns itself with that of Literature.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee concerns itself with the prize of Peace.
The First Nobel awards took place in 1901. The Nobel Prizes consist of a sum of money, a gold medal, and a diploma. It can be given to one person individually, divided equally between two people, or shared between three.
2019 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony
This year, the Nobel Prize announcements take place from the 7th-14th October.
The committees working on the selection of the recipients of the prize contemplate which scientist, poet, activist, etc. has brought the most benefit to humankind in their respective fields.
The following are the announcement dates and the winners:
Monday 7th October, for the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine
Winners:
Gregg L. Semenza (American)
Peter J. Ratcliffe (British)
William G. Kaelin (American)
These scientists worked together and were awarded "for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability".
Tuesday 8th October, for the Nobel Prize in Physics
Winners:
Jim Peebles (Canadian American): “James Peebles took on the cosmos, with its billions of galaxies and galaxy clusters. His theoretical framework, developed over two decades, is the foundation of our modern understanding of the universe’s history, from the Big Bang to the present day.”
Michel Mayor (Swiss) and Didier Queloz (Swiss): both honored for discovering "an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star".
Wednesday 9th October, for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Winners:
Akira Yoshino (Japanese)
John B. Goodenough (German American)
M. Stanley Whittingham (British)
These chemists were jointly awarded for “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.
Thursday 10th October, for the Nobel Prize in Literature
Winner:
Peter Handke (Austrian): “for influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience,”
Olga Tokarczuk (Polish): “for a narrative imagination that with encyclopaedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.”
Friday 11th October, for the Nobel Peace Prize
Winner:
Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopian): "for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea."
Monday 14th October, for the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
Winner:
Abhijit Banerjee (Indian)
Esther Duflo (French American)
Michael Kremer (American)
These economists teamed up, and were awarded for “their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”
© Nobel Media. Photo: N. Adachi
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