Nobel Prize: 20 Interesting Facts You May Not Know..........!! 1. The Nobel Prizes were founded by Swedish industrialist and scientist Alfred Nobel who invented dynamite in 1866. 2. Alfred Nobel was many talents rolled in one as he worked as chemist, engineer and industrialist. Also, he could speak 5 languages fluently at the age of 17. He left 31 million Swedish kroner (today about 265 million dollar) to fund the Nobel Prizes. 3. In his will dated November 27, 1895, Nobel dedicated a mammoth share of his fortune to honour work by awarding prizes in five areas - Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace. 4. In 1968, a sixth award for Economics was added by the Bank of Sweden in the memory of Alfred Nobel. 5. The Nobel Prizes are announced in advance but distributed every year on December 10 to mark the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel. 6. The Nobel Prizes for Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Economics are awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, while the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded at a different ceremony in Oslo, Norway. 7. Alfred Nobel signed his third and last will at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris. In his will, Alfred Nobel didnt explain as to why the Nobel Peace Prize was to be awarded by a Norwegian committee while the other four prizes were to be handled by Swedish committees. 8. The prize consists of a medal, personal diploma and cash worth 8 million Swedish kroner (roughly equal to $1.1 million US dollars as of october 2014). 9. The Nobel medal features the image of Alfred Nobel on the face. The image on the reverse varies according to the institution awarding the prize. 10. The main inscription on one side of the medal for Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, and Literature Nobel Prizes reads: Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes, which in loose translation means - And they who bettered life on earth by new found mastery. The verbatim translation is - inventions enhance life which is beautified through art. 11. The inscription on the Nobel Peace medal is- Pro pace et fraternitate gentium, which means - For the peace and brotherhood of men. 12. So far, 567 Nobel Prizes have been awarded between 1901 and 2014 to 889 Nobel Laureates ( 864 individuals and 25 organizations) 13. 95 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded since 1901. It was not awarded on 19 occasions: in 1914-1916, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939-1943, 1948, 1955-1956, 1966-1967 and 1972. 14. Posthumous nominations cant be made for Nobel Prizes. If during consideration, the nominee dies, his name is removed. But if a person dies after being announced as the winner, a posthumous award is given. 15. More than three people cant share a Nobel Prize. 16. Among the Nobel Laureates, the two most common dates for birthdays are 21 May and 28 February. 17. Till now, two have voluntarily declined to accept Nobel - Jean Paul Sartre for Literature in 1964 and Le Duc Tho for Peace in 1937. Le Duc Tho rejected the awrd given to him for Paris Peace Accords saying here was no actual pweace in Vietnam. 18. In 1958, Boris Pasternak was awarded the Nobel in Literature. He first accepted the Nobel Prize but later declined the prize fearing the Soviet authorities. 19. Malala Yousufzai, a Pakistani child education activist, is the youngest person to achieve the Nobel at the age of 17. 20. The Curies (Marie and Pierre Curie) comprised a very successful Nobel Prize family. Marie Curie herself was awarded two Nobel Prizes. Marie Curie herself was awarded two Nobel Prizes - In 1903, she along with Pierre Curie was awarded half the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.and now. Indian Nobel Laureates. Starting from 1913, when Rabindranath Tagore became the first Indian to be honoured with a Nobel, eight Indians have been honoured with the prestigious prize, Kailash Satyarthi being the latest this year. Out of 8 Nobel Prizes that Indians have been awarded, there are two peace prizes, two Physics Nobel Prizes, and one each in the field of Medicine, Literature and Chemistry. 1. Rabindranath Tagore. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Rabindranath Tagore became the first Indian ever to get this award for his collection of his poems named “Geetanjali” that featured “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse”. A marvellous Indian poet and writer, tagore in his acceptance speech, he said, I beg to convey to the Swedish Academy my grateful appreciation of the breadth of understanding which has brought the distant near, and has made a stranger a brother. 2. Sir CV Raman Chandra Shekar Venkata Raman was an Indian scientist, physicist who was awarded Nobel Prize of Physics in 1930 for his work on the scattering of light and discovery of an effect that was named after him - “Raman Effect”. Sir CV Raman in his Nobel lecture, said he was fascinated and inspired by the wonderful blue opalescence of the Mediterranean Sea, in 1921 during a trip to Europe. 3. Dr Hargobind Khorana The only Indian Nobel Medicine Laureate, Dr. Hargobind Khorana was a Doctorate in Chemistry. He was awarded Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1968 alongwith Marshall W Nirenberg and Robert W Holley for his study of the Human Genetic Code and its role in Protein Synthesis 4. Mother Teresa Born as Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxiu in Yugoslavia, Mother Teresa became an Indian citizen later and was awarded Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979 for her commendable service towards healing the poor and diseases. Her Charitable Mission “Nirmal Hriday” at Calcutta served poor and those suffering from Leprosy. In her Nobel lecture, she said, We must give each other until it hurts. It is not enough for us to say: I love God, but I do not love my neighbour. 5. Dr Subramanian Chandrashekar Indian Astro-Physicist Dr. Subramanian Chandrashekar was awarded Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 along with William A Fowler for their mathematical theory of black holes. Chandrasekhar was awarded for his theory on white dwarf stars’ limitation named after him as “Chandrasekhar limit”. 6. Dr Amartya Sen Dr Amartya Sen, an Indian Professor in Economics was awarded Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998 for his work in Economic Theory related to Poverty, Democracy, Development and Social Welfare. Beginning his speech with a silly thought, he said, economists too can learn from the kind of open minded reasoning employed by Tagore and Chandrasekhar. 7. Dr Venkataraman Ramakrishnan An Indo-American scientist, Dr Venkataraman Ramakrishnan shared Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the year 2009, along with Thomas Steitz (of US) and Ada Yonath of Israel for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. 8. Kailash Satyarthi An Indian childrens rights activist, who has devoted more than two decades of his life towards emancipation of children mired in slavery and bonded labour, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for this year 2014. He shares the award with Pakistani gir child education activist Malala Yousufzai. Satyarthis organization, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, has freed over thousands of children from various forms of labour and slavery. 9. VS Naipaul Trinidadian-born Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was a British Writer of Indian origin who was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. 10. Mahatma Gandhi – “Greatest omission in Nobel history” Apostle of peace and non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi who steered India towards independence from British colonial rule, is widely regarded as the greatest omission in the list of Nobel laureates. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize thrice (in 1937–39, 1947 and just a few days before his assassination in January 1948.), but Gandhi was never chosen for the award. What best summarises Gandhis conspicuous absence from the list of Nobel laureates is a speech by Geir Lundestad, Secretary of Norwegian Nobel Committee in 2006. He said, The greatest omission in our 106 year history is undoubtedly that Mahatma Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace prize. Gandhi could do without the Nobel Peace prize. Whether Nobel committee can do without Gandhi is the question
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 03:27:23 +0000
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