Alfred Nobel | |
---|---|
Alfred Nobel
|
|
Born |
Alfred Bernhard Nobel 21 October 1833 , Sweden, Sweden–Norway |
Died | 10 December 1896 Sanremo, Italy |
(aged 63)
Resting place |
Norra begravningsplatsen, , Sweden 59°21′24.52″N 18°1′9.43″E / 59.3568111°N 18.0192861°E |
Occupation | Chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, philanthropist |
Known for | Invention of dynamite, Benefactor of the Nobel Prize |
Signature | |
Alfred Bernhard Nobel (/noʊˈbɛl/; Swedish: [ˈalfrɛd nʊˈbɛl] listen ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist.
Known for inventing dynamite, Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments. Nobel held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. After reading a premature obituary which condemned him for profiting from the sales of arms, he bequeathed his fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him. His name also survives in modern-day companies such as Dynamit Nobel and AkzoNobel, which are descendants of mergers with companies Nobel himself established.
Born in , Alfred Nobel was the third son of Immanuel Nobel (1801–1872), an inventor and engineer, and Carolina Andriette (Ahlsell) Nobel (1805–1889). The couple married in 1827 and had eight children. The family was impoverished, and only Alfred and his three brothers survived past childhood. Through his father, Alfred Nobel was a descendant of the Swedish scientist Olaus Rudbeck (1630–1702), and in his turn the boy was interested in engineering, particularly explosives, learning the basic principles from his father at a young age. Alfred Nobel's interest in technology was inherited from his father, an alumnus of Royal Institute of Technology in .