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{{Short description|Swedish chemist and inventor (1833–1896)}}
{{For|the Irish racehorse|Alfred Nobel (horse)}}
{{Distinguish|Alfred Noble (disambiguation){{!}}Alfred Noble}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name                      = Alfred Nobel
| image                     = Alfred Nobel3.jpg
| caption                   = Nobel in 1896
| birth_name                = Alfred Bernhard Nobel
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|1833|10|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place               = [[Stockholm]], Sweden
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|1896|12|10|1833|10|21|df=yes}}
| death_place               = [[Sanremo]], Italy
| resting_place             = [[Norra begravningsplatsen]], [[Solna]], Sweden
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|59|21|24.52|N|18|1|9.43|E|region:SE-AB_type:landmark}}
| monuments                 = [[Nobel Monument]], <br/> New York City, U.S.
| occupation                =  {{hlist|Chemist|Engineer|Inventor|Businessman}}
| known_for                 = {{Plain list|
* Inventing [[dynamite]] (1866)
* Establishing the [[Nobel Prize]]s
}}
| parents                   = {{hlist|[[Immanuel Nobel|Immanuel]]|[[Andriette Nobel|Andriette]]}}
| family                    = [[Nobel family|Nobel]]
| signature                 = Alfred Nobel Signature.svg
}}

'''Alfred Bernhard Nobel''' ({{IPAc-en|n|oʊ|ˈ|b|ɛ|l}} {{Respell|noh|BEL}};<ref>{{Cite web|title=NOBEL Definition & Meaning|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/nobel|website=[[Dictionary.com]]}}</ref> {{IPA|sv|ˈǎlfrɛd nʊˈbɛlː|lang|sv-Alfred_Nobel.ogg}}; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish [[chemist]], inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing [[dynamite]], as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the [[Nobel Prize]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,998209,00.html | title=The Worst and the Brightest | first=Frederic | last=Golden | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=16 October 2000 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103153942/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998209,00.html |archive-date=3 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> He also made several other important contributions to science, holding 355 [[patent]]s during his life.

Born into the prominent [[Nobel family]] in Stockholm, Nobel displayed an early aptitude for science and learning, particularly in chemistry and languages; he became fluent in six languages and filed his first patent at the age of 24. He embarked on many business ventures with his family, most notably owning the company [[Bofors]], which was an iron and steel producer that he had developed into a major manufacturer of cannons and other armaments. Nobel's most famous invention, dynamite, was an explosive made using [[nitroglycerin]], which was patented in 1867. He further invented [[gelignite]] in 1875 and [[ballistite]] in 1887.

Upon his death, Nobel donated his fortune to a foundation to fund the Nobel Prizes, which annually recognize those who have "conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/the-nobel-prize-organisation/ | title=The Nobel Prize Organisation | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=15 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615031253/https://www.nobelprize.org/the-nobel-prize-organisation/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Alfred Nobel's Will |url=https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel-s-will | publisher=[[Nobel Peace Prize]] | archive-date=12 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612014132/https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/History/Alfred-Nobel-s-will | url-status=live}}</ref> The synthetic element [[nobelium]] was named after him,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/102/nobelium | title=Nobelium | publisher=[[Royal Society of Chemistry]] |archive-date=9 March 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309201141/http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/102/Nobelium| url-status=live}}</ref> and his name and legacy also survive in companies such as [[Dynamit Nobel]] and [[AkzoNobel]], which descend from mergers with companies he founded. Nobel was elected a member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]], which, pursuant to his will, is responsible for choosing the [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel laureates]] in [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] and in [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]].

==Biography==
===Early life and education===
{{See also|Nobel family}}
{{Nobel Family}}
[[File:Audhumbla - Auðumbla - Audumbla - Adumbla - Milk-Stockholm-1908.jpg|thumb|The birthplace of Alfred Nobel at [[Norrlandsgatan]] in Stockholm]]
Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, [[Sweden]], on 21 October 1833. He was the third son of [[Immanuel Nobel]] (1801–1872), an inventor and engineer, and [[Andriette Nobel]] ([[Birth name|née]] Ahlsell 1805–1889).<ref name=eb/><ref name=life>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-life-and-work/ |title=Alfred Nobel's life and work |date=13 March 2015 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] |archive-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008180102/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-life-and-work/|url-status=live}}</ref> The couple married in 1827 and had eight children. The family was impoverished, and only Alfred and his three brothers survived beyond their childhood.<ref name=eb/> Through his father, Alfred Nobel was a descendant of the Swedish scientist [[Olaus Rudbeck]] (1630–1702).<ref name=thoughtco/> Nobel's father was an alumnus of the [[Royal Institute of Technology]] in Stockholm and was an engineer and inventor who built bridges and buildings and experimented with different ways of blasting rocks. He encouraged and taught Nobel from a young age.<ref name=life/>

[[File:Alfred Nobel young.jpg|thumb|Alfred Nobel at a young age in the 1850s]]
Following various business failures caused by the loss of some barges of building material, Immanuel Nobel was forced into bankruptcy. Nobel's father moved to [[Saint Petersburg]], then part of the [[Russian Empire]], and grew successful there as a manufacturer of machine tools and explosives.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobel-his-life-and-work/ | title=Alfred Nobel – his life and work | date=3 September 2015 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] |archive-date=5 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005110401/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobel-his-life-and-work/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He invented the veneer [[lathe]], which made possible the production of modern [[plywood]],<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/local-news/2012/07/09/the-week-in-preview-alfred-nobel-8217s-father-immanuel-invented-a-rotary-lathe-that-became-the-key-to-manufacturing-modern-plywood/ | title=The Week in Preview: Alfred Nobel's father, Immanuel, invented a rotary lathe that became the key to manufacturing modern plywood. | work=[[The Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire)|The Telegraph]] | date=9 July 2012}}</ref> and started work on the [[naval mine]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blog.usni.org/posts/2016/06/02/ten-mining-campaigns-that-shaped-mine-warfare | title=Ten Mining Campaigns That Shaped Mine Warfare | publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] | date=2 June 2016 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=25 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825173437/https://blog.usni.org/posts/2016/06/02/ten-mining-campaigns-that-shaped-mine-warfare | url-status=live }}</ref> In 1842, the family joined him in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ne.se/info/privat/alfred-nobel/ |title=Alfred Nobel |date=1 July 2020 | website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] | language=sv-SE | archive-date=9 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009003438/https://www.ne.se/info/aktuellt/privat/alfred-nobel/|url-status=live}}</ref> Now prosperous, his parents were able to send Nobel to private tutors, and the boy excelled in his studies, particularly in chemistry and languages, achieving fluency in English, [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], and [[Russian language|Russian]].<ref name=eb/> For 18 months, from 1841 to 1842, Nobel attended the Jacobs Apologistic School in Stockholm, his only schooling; he never attended university.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nobel-alfred-0 | title=Nobel, Alfred | publisher=[[Encyclopedia.com]]}}</ref><ref name=stp/>

Nobel gained proficiency in Swedish, French, Russian, English, German, and Italian. He also developed sufficient literary skill to write [[poetry]] in English. His ''[[Nemesis (Nobel play)|Nemesis]]'' is a prose tragedy in four acts about the Italian noblewoman [[Beatrice Cenci]]. It was printed while he was dying, but the entire stock was destroyed immediately after his death, except for three copies, being regarded as scandalous and [[blasphemous]]. It was published in Sweden in 2003 and has been translated into [[Slovene language|Slovenian]], French, [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish.]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Alfred Nobel| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRUYPQAACAAJ |title=Némésis: tragédie en quatre actes | publisher=Belles lettres | year=2008| isbn=978-2-251-44342-3}}</ref>

===Scientific career===
[[File:AlfredNobel adjusted.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Nobel by Gösta Florman (1831–1900)]]
As a young man, Nobel studied with chemist [[Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin|Nikolai Zinin]]; then, in 1850, he went to Paris to further the work. There he met [[Ascanio Sobrero]], who had synthesized [[nitroglycerin]] three years before. Sobrero strongly opposed the use of nitroglycerin because it was unpredictable, exploding when subjected to variable heat or pressure. But Nobel became interested in finding a way to control and use [[nitroglycerin]] as a commercially usable explosive; it had much more power than [[gunpowder]]. In 1851 at age 18, he went to the United States for one year to study,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sok.riksarkivet.se/Sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=8143 | title=Alfred B Nobel – Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon |website=sok.riksarkivet.se |archive-date=24 February 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224115217/https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=8143| url-status=live}}</ref> working for a short period under Swedish-American inventor [[John Ericsson]], who designed the [[American Civil War]] [[Ironclad warship|ironclad]], [[USS Monitor|USS ''Monitor'']]. Nobel filed his first patent, an English patent for a [[gas meter]], in 1857, while his first Swedish patent, which he received in 1863, was on "ways to prepare gunpowder".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/patents.html |title=Patents – Alfred Nobel |publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | archive-date=28 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063709/http://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/patents.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last=Carlisle | first=Rodney | year=2004| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDbQVE3IdTcC&pg=PA256 | title=Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries | page=256 | publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] | location=[[New Jersey]] | isbn=0-471-24410-4 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101104815/https://books.google.com/books?id=pDbQVE3IdTcC&pg=PA256 |archive-date=1 January 2023 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=eb/> The family factory produced [[armaments]] for the [[Crimean War]] (1853–1856), but had difficulty switching back to regular domestic production when the fighting ended and they filed for [[bankruptcy]].<ref name=eb/> In 1859, Nobel's father left his factory in the care of the second son, [[Ludvig Nobel]] (1831–1888), who greatly improved the business. Nobel and his parents returned to Sweden from Russia, and Nobel devoted himself to the study of [[explosives]], and especially to the safe manufacture and use of nitroglycerin. Nobel invented a [[detonator]] in 1863, and in 1865 designed the [[blasting cap]].<ref name=eb/> 

On 3 September 1864, a shed used for preparation of nitroglycerin exploded at the factory in [[Heleneborg]], Stockholm, Sweden, killing five people, including Nobel's younger brother [[Emil Oskar Nobel|Emil]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.tekniskamuseet.se/en/learn-more/swedish-inventors/alfred-nobel-dynamite/ | title=Alfred Nobel – Dynamite | work=[[National Museum of Science and Technology (Sweden)|National Museum of Science and Technology]] | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151226/https://www.tekniskamuseet.se/en/learn-more/swedish-inventors/alfred-nobel-dynamite/ | url-status=live }}</ref> He was then deprived of his license to produce explosives.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/12/13/archives/the-life-of-nobel-alfred-nobel-dynamite-king-architect-of-peace-by.html | title=The Life of Nobel; Alfred Nobel: Dynamite King – Architect of Peace. By Herta E. Pauli. With frontispiece. 325 pp. New York: L. B. Fischer | first=Katherine | last=Woods | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=13 December 1942 | url-access=subscription | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151230/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/12/13/archives/the-life-of-nobel-alfred-nobel-dynamite-king-architect-of-peace-by.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Fazed by the accident, Nobel founded the company Nitroglycerin [[Aktiebolag|AB]] in [[Vinterviken]] so that he could continue to work in a more isolated area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alfred Nobel – Dynamit | trans-title=Alfred Nobel – Dynamite | url=https://www.tekniskamuseet.se/lar-dig-mer/svenska-uppfinnare-och-innovatorer/alfred-nobel-dynamit/ | publisher=[[Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology]] | language=sv-SE | archive-date=3 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003064331/https://www.tekniskamuseet.se/lar-dig-mer/svenska-uppfinnare-och-innovatorer/alfred-nobel-dynamit/| url-status=live}}</ref> Nobel invented [[dynamite]] in 1867, a substance easier and safer to handle than the more unstable [[nitroglycerin]]. Dynamite was patented in the US and the UK and was used extensively in [[mining]] and the building of transport networks internationally.<ref name=eb/> In 1875, Nobel invented [[gelignite]], more stable and powerful than dynamite, and in 1887, patented [[ballistite]], a predecessor of [[cordite]].<ref name=eb/>

Nobel was elected a member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] in 1884, the same institution that would later select [[laureates]] for two of the Nobel prizes, and he received an [[honorary doctorate]] from [[Uppsala University]] in 1893. Nobel's brothers Ludvig and Robert founded the oil company [[Branobel]] and became hugely rich in their own right. Nobel invested in these and amassed great wealth through the development of these new oil regions. It operated mainly in [[Baku]], [[Azerbaijan]], but also in [[Cheleken]], [[Turkmenistan]]. During his life, Nobel was issued 355 [[patent]]s internationally, and by his death, his business had established more than 90 explosives and armament factories, despite his apparently [[pacifist]] character.<ref name=eb/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nobel_alfred.shtml | title=Alfred Nobel (1833–1896) | work=[[BBC News]] | archive-date=27 December 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227150003/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nobel_alfred.shtml | url-status=live}}</ref>

===Inventions===
{{Main|Dynamite|Gelignite|Ballistite}}
Nobel found that when [[nitroglycerin]] was incorporated in an absorbent inert substance like ''kieselguhr'' ([[diatomaceous earth]]) it became safer and more convenient to handle, and this mixture he patented in 1867 as "dynamite".<ref name=eb/> Nobel demonstrated his explosive for the first time that year, at a quarry in [[Redhill, Surrey|Redhill]], [[Surrey]], England. To help reestablish his name and improve the image of his business from the earlier controversies associated with dangerous explosives, Nobel had also considered naming the highly powerful substance "Nobel's Safety Powder", which is the text used in his patent, but settled with Dynamite instead, referring to the [[Greek language|Greek]] word for "power" ({{lang|grc|δύναμις}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfred Nobel - Dynamit |url=https://www.tekniskamuseet.se/lar-dig-mer/svenska-uppfinnare-och-innovatorer/alfred-nobel-dynamit/ | work=[[National Museum of Science and Technology (Sweden)|National Museum of Science and Technology]] | language=sv-SE | archive-date=3 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003064331/https://www.tekniskamuseet.se/lar-dig-mer/svenska-uppfinnare-och-innovatorer/alfred-nobel-dynamit/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=eb/><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.dixonvalve.com/sites/default/files/publications/articles/The_Inventor_of_Dynamite_Left_a_Leg_DIXBOA.pdf | title=The Inventor of Dynamite Left a Legacy of Peace | first=Sue | last=DePasquale | publisher=[[Dixon Valve & Coupling Company]] | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151233/https://www.dixonvalve.com/sites/default/files/publications/articles/The_Inventor_of_Dynamite_Left_a_Leg_DIXBOA.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>

Nobel later combined nitroglycerin with various nitrocellulose compounds, similar to [[collodion]], but settled on a more efficient recipe combining another nitrate explosive, and obtained a transparent, jelly-like substance, which was a more powerful explosive than dynamite. [[Gelignite]], or blasting gelatin, as it was named, was patented in 1876; and was followed by a host of similar combinations, modified by the addition of potassium nitrate and various other substances.<ref name=eb/> Gelignite was more stable, powerful, transportable and conveniently formed to fit into bored holes, like those used in drilling and mining, than the previously used compounds. It was adopted as the standard technology for mining in the "Age of Engineering", bringing Nobel a great amount of financial success, though at a cost to his health. An offshoot of this research resulted in Nobel's invention of [[ballistite]], the precursor of many modern smokeless powder explosives and still used as a rocket propellant.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ballistite
 |title=Definition of ballistite | work=[[Dictionary.com]] | archive-date=30 July 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730154058/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ballistite | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Nobel Prize===
{{Main|Nobel Prize}}

[[File:Nobel Prize.png|thumb|Front side of one of the Nobel Prize medals]]
There is a well-known story about the origin of the Nobel Prize, although historians have been unable to verify it, and some dismiss the story as a myth.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.history.com/news/did-a-premature-obituary-inspire-the-nobel-prize |title=Did a Premature Obituary Inspire the Nobel Prize? |last=Andrews | first=Evan | work=[[History Channel]] | date=23 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130142424/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/blame-sloppy-journalism-for-the-nobel-prizes-1172688/ |archive-date=30 November 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1888, the death of his brother Ludvig supposedly caused several newspapers to publish [[obituaries]] of Alfred in error. One French newspaper condemned him for his invention of military explosives—in many versions of the story, dynamite is quoted, although this was mainly used for civilian applications—and this is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death.<ref name=eb/> The obituary stated, ''{{lang|fr|Le marchand de la mort est mort}}'' ("The merchant of death is dead"),<ref name=eb/> and went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday."<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenmakovsky/2011/11/07/nobel-how-he-built-his-reputation/ | title=Nobel: How He Built His Reputation | first=Ken | last=Makovsky | work=[[Forbes]] | date=11 July 2011 | url-access=limited | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612163418/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenmakovsky/2011/11/07/nobel-how-he-built-his-reputation/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Nobel read the obituary and was appalled at the idea that he would be remembered in this way. His decision to posthumously donate the majority of his wealth to found the [[Nobel Prize]] has been credited to him wanting to leave behind a better legacy.<ref name=Sloppy>{{cite news | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/blame-sloppy-journalism-for-the-nobel-prizes-1172688/ | title=Blame Sloppy Journalism for the Nobel Prizes | last=Schultz | first=Colin | work=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] | date=9 October 2013 | archive-date=30 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130142424/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/blame-sloppy-journalism-for-the-nobel-prizes-1172688/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=eb/> However, it has been questioned whether or not the obituary in question actually existed.<ref name=Sloppy/>

On 27 November 1895, at the [[Sweden|Swedish]]-[[Norway|Norwegian]] Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the [[Nobel Prize]]s, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality.<ref name=eb/><ref name=will/><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/01/01/archives/the-will-of-alfred-nobel.html | title=The Will of Alfred Nobel. | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=1 January 1897 | url-access=subscription | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151230/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/01/01/archives/the-will-of-alfred-nobel.html | url-status=live }}</ref> After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel's will allocated 94% of his total assets, 31,225,000 [[Swedish kronor]], to establish the five Nobel Prizes.<ref>{{cite book| last=Abrams | first=Irwin | title=The Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates | publisher=Watson Publishing International | isbn=0-88135-388-4 | year=2001 | page=7 | author-link=#Abrams}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Fant | first1=Kenne | authorlink1=Kenne Fant | last2=Ruuth | first2=Marianne | year=1991 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-87ReXymessC&pg=PA327 | title=Alfred Nobel: a biography | location=New York | publisher=[[Arcade Publishing]] | isbn=1-55970-328-8 | page=327}}</ref> By 2022, the foundation had approximately 6 billion Swedish Kronor of invested capital.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2023/04/annual-report-2022-2.pdf | title=The Nobel Foundation Annual Report 2022 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | date=April 2023 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151226/https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2023/04/annual-report-2022-2.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>

The first three of these prizes are awarded for eminence [[Nobel Prize in Physics|in physical science]], [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|in chemistry]] and [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|in medical science or physiology]]; the fourth is [[Nobel Prize for Literature|for literary work]] "in an ideal direction" and [[Nobel Peace Prize|the fifth prize]] is to be given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of international [[wikt:fraternity|fraternity]], in the suppression or reduction of standing armies, or in the establishment or furtherance of peace congresses.<ref name=eb/>

The formulation for the literary prize being given for a work "in an ideal direction" (''{{lang|sv|i idealisk riktning}}'' in Swedish) is cryptic and has caused much confusion. For many years, the Swedish Academy interpreted "ideal" as "idealistic" (''{{lang|sv|idealistisk}}'') and used it as a reason not to give the prize to important but less romantic authors, such as [[Henrik Ibsen]] and [[Leo Tolstoy]]. This interpretation has since been revised, and the prize has been awarded to, for example, [[Dario Fo]] and [[José Saramago]], who do not belong to the camp of literary idealism.<ref>{{Citation | title=The Nobel Peace Prize | date=30 April 2019 | url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb63g.13 | publisher=Renaissance Books | work=Northern Light | pages=59–61 | doi=10.2307/j.ctvzgb63g.13 | isbn=978-1-898823-91-9 | s2cid=243214222 | access-date=20 May 2021 | archive-date=19 September 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919020819/https://chooser.crossref.org/?doi=10.2307%2Fj.ctvzgb63g.13 | url-status=live | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

There was room for interpretation by the bodies he had named for deciding on the physical sciences and chemistry prizes, given that he had not consulted them before making the will. In his one-page testament, he stipulated that the money go to discoveries or inventions in the physical sciences and to discoveries or improvements in chemistry. He had opened the door to technological awards, but had not left instructions on how to deal with the distinction between science and technology. Since the deciding bodies he had chosen were more concerned with the former, the prizes went to scientists more often than engineers, technicians, or other inventors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://qz.com/1092758/nobel-prize-2017-why-is-there-no-nobel-prize-in-technology/ |last=Hervey |first=Angus |title=Why is there no Nobel Prize in technology? | work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |date=4 October 2017 |archive-date=29 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429122841/https://qz.com/1092758/nobel-prize-2017-why-is-there-no-nobel-prize-in-technology/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Sweden's central bank [[Sveriges Riksbank]] celebrated its 300th anniversary in 1968 by donating a large sum of money to the [[Nobel Foundation]] to be used to set up a sixth prize in the field of economics in honor of Alfred Nobel. In 2001, Alfred Nobel's great-great-nephew, Peter Nobel (born 1931), asked the Bank of Sweden to differentiate its award to economists given "in Alfred Nobel's memory" from the five other awards. This request added to the controversy over whether the [[Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel]] is actually a legitimate "Nobel Prize".<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://mondediplo.com/2005/02/12nobel | title=The 'Nobel prize' that isn't | first=Hazel | last=Henderson | work=[[Le Monde]] | date=February 2005 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=19 September 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919020819/https://mondediplo.com/2005/02/12nobel | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/is-the-economics-prize-not-a-real-nobel-5390957/ | title=Fact Check: Is the Economics Prize not a 'real' Nobel? | work=[[The Indian Express]] | date=8 October 2018 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151228/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/is-the-economics-prize-not-a-real-nobel-5390957/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Health issues and death===
[[File:Nobel's death mask.jpg|thumb|Alfred Nobel's [[death mask]], at [[Björkborn Manor]], Nobel's residence in [[Karlskoga]], Sweden]]
In his letters to his mistress, Hess, Nobel described constant pain, debilitating migraines, and "paralyzing" fatigue, leading some to believe that he suffered from [[fibromyalgia]]. However, his concerns at the time were dismissed as [[hypochondria]], leading to further [[Depression (mood)|depression]].<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Alfred nobel | first=L. R. | last=Holmin | journal=Journal of Clinical Rheumatology: Practical Reports on Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases | date=1996 | volume=2 | issue=5 | pages=251–256 | doi=10.1097/00124743-199610000-00004 | pmid=19078079 }}</ref>

By 1895, Nobel had developed [[angina pectoris]].<ref name=eb/>

On 27 November 1895, he finalized his [[will and testament]],<ref name=health/><ref name=will>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-will/ | title=Alfred Nobel's will | date=6 September 2019 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=27 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627053525/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-will/ | url-status=live }}</ref> leaving most of his wealth in trust, unbeknownst to his family, to fund the [[Nobel Prize]] awards.<ref name=eb/><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/health/26docs.html | title=Alfred Nobel and the Prize That Almost Didn't Happen | first=Lawrence K. | last=Altman | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=26 September 2006 | url-access=subscription | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=21 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721202111/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/health/26docs.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/kidspost/2022/12/05/what-are-nobel-prizes/ | title=Nobel Prizes started when one scientist chose to honor other innovators | first=Marylou | last=Tousignant | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=5 December 2022 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

On 10 December 1896, he suffered a [[stroke]]/[[intracerebral hemorrhage]] and was first partially paralyzed and then died, aged 63.<ref name=health>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-health-and-his-interest-in-medicine/ | title=Alfred Nobel's health and his interest in medicine | first=Nils | last=Ringertz | date=25 March 2014 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]]}}</ref> He is buried in [[Norra begravningsplatsen]] in Stockholm.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/alfred-nobels-grave | title=Alfred Nobel's Grave | work=[[Atlas Obscura]] | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=22 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422101423/https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/alfred-nobels-grave | url-status=live }}</ref>

Based on his experimentation with explosives, his strenuous work habits, and the decline in his health at the end of the 1870s, some hypothesize that [[nitroglycerine]] poisoning was a contributing factor to his death.<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Could nitroglycerine poisoning be the cause of Alfred Nobel's anginal pains and premature death? | first=S. S. | last=Kantha | journal=Medical Hypotheses | date=October 1997 | volume=49 | issue=4 | pages=303–306 | doi=10.1016/s0306-9877(97)90195-x | pmid=9352499 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
=== Religion ===
Nobel was [[Lutheran]] and, during his years living in Paris, he regularly attended the [[Church of Sweden Abroad]] led by pastor [[Nathan Söderblom]], who received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1930.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1930/soderblom/biographical/ | date=March 2013 | title=Nobel of Peace Laureates | archive-date=12 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212061142/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-bio.html |url-status=live}}</ref> He was an [[agnostic]] in youth and became an [[atheist]] later in life, though he still donated generously to the Church.<ref name=stp>{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobel-st-petersburg-1842-1863/ | title=Alfred Nobel – St. Petersburg, 1842–1863 | date=5 December 2014 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | archive-date=9 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109205414/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobel-st-petersburg-1842-1863/ | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=side/><ref name=thoughtco>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thoughtco.com/alfred-nobel-biography-4176433 | title=Biography of Alfred Nobel, Inventor of Dynamite | first=Alane | last=Lim | publisher=[[Dotdash Meredith]] | date=27 April 2020 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=26 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026104820/https://www.thoughtco.com/alfred-nobel-biography-4176433 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=remembering>{{Cite news | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/galleries/world/2017/Oct/21/the-man-behind-the-nobel-prize-remembering-alfred-nobel-on-his-184th-birth-anniversary-100926.html | title=The man behind the Nobel Prize: Remembering Alfred Nobel on his 184th birth anniversary | work=[[The New Indian Express]] | date=21 October 2017 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=24 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624044150/https://www.newindianexpress.com/galleries/world/2017/oct/21/the-man-behind-the-nobel-prize-remembering-alfred-nobel-on-his-184th-birth-anniversary-100926.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Romantic relationships and personality===
Nobel remained a solitary character, given to periods of [[Depression (mood)|depression]].<ref name=eb>{{Cite encyclopedia | title=Alfred Nobel | encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Nobel |archive-date=2 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502193629/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416842/Alfred-Bernhard-Nobel |url-status=live}}</ref> He never married,<ref name=life/> although his biographers note that he had at least three loves. His first love was in Russia with a girl named Alexandra, who rejected his [[marriage proposal]].<ref name=remembering/>

In 1876, Austro-Bohemian Countess [[Bertha von Suttner]] became his secretary, but she left him after a brief stay to marry her previous lover, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. Her contact with Nobel was brief, yet she corresponded with him until he died in 1896, and probably influenced his decision to include the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in his will.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Bertha von Suttner—Biographical | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1905/suttner/biographical/ | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | date=16 June 2021 | archive-date=25 October 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025050823/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1905/suttner/biographical/ |url-status=live}}</ref> She was awarded the 1905 Nobel Peace prize "for her sincere peace activities".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1905/summary/ | title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1905 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] |archive-date=22 May 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522204445/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1905/summary/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

Nobel's longest-lasting romance was an 18-year relationship with Sofija Hess from [[Celje]], whom he met in 1876 in [[Baden bei Wien]], where she worked as an employee in a flower shop that catered to wealthy clientele. The extent of their relationship was revealed by a collection of 221 letters sent by Nobel to Hess over 15 years. At the time that they met, Nobel was 43 years old while Hess was 26. Their relationship, which was not merely platonic, ended when she became pregnant with another man, although Nobel continued to support her financially until Hess married her child's father to avoid being ostracized as a whore. Hess was a Jewish Christian, and the letters include remarks by Nobel characterized as [[antisemitism]]. Nobel also displayed characteristics of [[chauvinism]] in the letters writing to Hess: "You neither work, nor write, nor read, nor think" and guilted her, writing "I have for years now sacrificed out of purely noble motives my time, my duties, my intellectual life, my reputation".<ref name=affair>{{Cite web | url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/nobel-affair-the-correspondence-between-alfred-nobel-and-sofie-hess/oclc/987791384 | title=A Nobel affair: the correspondence between Alfred Nobel and Sofie Hess | via=[[WorldCat]] | year=2017 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151228/https://search.worldcat.org/title/nobel-affair-the-correspondence-between-alfred-nobel-and-sofie-hess/oclc/987791384 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=side>{{Cite news | url=https://thejewishindependent.com.au/anti-semitic-chauvinistic-side-alfred-nobel | title=The anti-Semitic, chauvinistic side of Alfred Nobel | work=The Jewish Independent | date=16 July 2018 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151228/https://thejewishindependent.com.au/anti-semitic-chauvinistic-side-alfred-nobel | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=reveal>{{cite news | url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2018-07-15/ty-article/.premium/alfred-nobels-letters-reveal-his-anti-semitic-chauvinistic-side/0000017f-e20a-d804-ad7f-f3fa72280000 | title=Alfred Nobel's Letters Reveal His anti-Semitic, Chauvinistic Side | first=Nathan | last=Ron | work=[[Haaretz]] | date=15 July 2018 | url-access=subscription | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212035035/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2018-07-15/ty-article/.premium/alfred-nobels-letters-reveal-his-anti-semitic-chauvinistic-side/0000017f-e20a-d804-ad7f-f3fa72280000 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.intlpress.com/site/pub/files/_fulltext/journals/iccm/2013/0001/0001/ICCM-2013-0001-0001-a009.pdf | title=Why is there No Nobel Prize in Mathematics? | first=Lizhen | last=Ji | work=[[International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians]] | year=2013 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=30 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830135553/https://www.intlpress.com/site/pub/files/_fulltext/journals/iccm/2013/0001/0001/ICCM-2013-0001-0001-a009.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt1pwtd68 | title=A Nobel Affair: The Correspondence between Alfred Nobel and Sofie Hess | first=Erika | last=Rummel | publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] | date=2017 | jstor=10.3138/j.ctt1pwtd68 | isbn=978-1-4875-0177-8 | access-date=12 June 2024 | archive-date=12 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151228/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt1pwtd68 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Residences===
[[File:Björborns herrgård.jpg|thumb|[[Björkborn Manor]], in [[Karlskoga]], was Alfred Nobel's last residence in Sweden.|left]]
Nobel traveled for much of his business life, maintaining companies in Europe and America. From 1865 to 1873, Nobel lived in Krümmel (now in the municipality of [[Geesthacht]], near [[Hamburg]]). From 1873 to 1891, he lived in a house on the Avenue Malakoff in Paris.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-house-in-paris/ | title=Alfred Nobel's House in Paris | first=Birgitta | last=Lemmel | date=11 June 2013 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | archive-date=11 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611203342/http://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/malakoff/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1891, after being accused of high treason against France for selling [[Ballistite]] to Italy, he moved from Paris to [[Sanremo]], Italy, acquiring [[Villa Nobel]], overlooking the [[Mediterranean Sea]], where he died in 1896.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Alfred Nobel's final years in Sanremo | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-final-years-in-sanremo/ | first=Lorenette | last=Gozzo | date=23 June 2016 | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] | archive-date=8 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208160223/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-final-years-in-sanremo/ | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Alfred Nobel – en mångsidig man | trans-title=Alfred Nobel – a versatile man | url=https://nobelprizemuseum.se/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Alfred-Nobel-faktatext.pdf |website=[[The Nobel Prize]] |date=December 2019 | language=sv | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021140326/https://nobelprizemuseum.se/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Alfred-Nobel-faktatext.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1894, when he acquired Bofors-Gullspång, the [[Björkborn Manor]] was included, where he stayed during the summers. It is now a museum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfred Nobel | url=https://nobelkarlskoga.se/welcome-2/alfred-nobel_english/ | website=nobelkarlskoga.se | archive-date=8 October 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008180102/https://nobelkarlskoga.se/utstallningar/alfred-nobel/ | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Björkborn Manor – Alfred Nobels Björkborn | url=https://nobelkarlskoga.se/welcome-2/bjorkborn-manor/ | website=nobelkarlskoga.se | archive-date=4 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904153608/https://nobelkarlskoga.se/welcome-2/bjorkborn-manor/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

==Monument to Alfred Nobel==
The ''Monument to Alfred Nobel'' ({{Langx|ru|Памятник Альфреду Нобелю}}, {{coord|59.960787|30.334905|dim:30_region:RU-LEN_type:landmark}}) is in Saint Petersburg along the [[Bolshaya Nevka River]] on Petrogradskaya Embankment, the street where Nobel's family lived until 1859.<ref>{{cite web | title=Alfred Nobel – St. Petersburg, 1842–1863 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/russia | last=Lemmel | first=Birgitta | publisher=[[Nobel Prize]] |archive-date=3 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703024113/http://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/russia/ |url-status=live}}</ref> It was dedicated in 1991 to mark the 90th anniversary of the first [[Nobel Prize]] presentation. Diplomat Thomas Bertelman and Professor [[Arkady Melua]] were initiators of the creation of the monument in 1989, and they provided funds for the establishment of the monument. The abstract metal sculpture was designed by local artists Sergey Alipov and Pavel Shevchenko, and appears to be an explosion or branches of a tree.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saint-petersburg.com/monuments/alfred-nobel/ | title=Monument to Alfred Nobel | publisher=Saint-Petersburg.com | archive-date=15 July 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715075855/http://www.saint-petersburg.com/monuments/alfred-nobel/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

==Criticism==
Criticism of Nobel focuses on his leading role in weapons manufacturing and sales. Some people question his motives in creating his prizes, suggesting they are intended to improve his reputation.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.thelocal.se/20101004/29406 | title=How 'merchant of death' Alfred Nobel became a champion of peace | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928121503/https://www.thelocal.se/20101004/29406 | archive-date=28 September 2019 | work=[[The Local]] | date=4 October 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.svd.se/a/7117df16-574e-350c-a31a-24de251593a2/fortalskampanj-bakom-nobels-nobla-testamente | trans-title=Kenne Fant: Slander campaign behind Nobel's noble testament | title=Kenne Fant: Förtalskampanj bakom Nobels nobla testamente | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214153642/https://www.svd.se/a/7117df16-574e-350c-a31a-24de251593a2/fortalskampanj-bakom-nobels-nobla-testamente |archive-date=14 December 2022 | first=Kenne | last=Fant | authorlink=Kenne Fant | work=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] | date=10 December 2002 | url-status=live}}</ref> For example, the 1984 [[public artwork]] ''[[Nobel Metamorphoses]]'' in [[Troisdorf]], Germany – at the time the location of the [[Dynamit Nobel]] headquarters, the sculpture critically contrasts war death statistics to peace prize recipients since the latter's inauguration in 1901.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nobel-Metamorphosen |url=https://www.troisdorf.de/de/natur-kultur/kunst-in-der-stadt/troisdorf-mitte/nobel-metamorphosen/ |access-date=2025-09-25 |website=Stadt Troisdorf |language=de}}</ref> 

===Antisemitism===
Nobel has also been criticized for displays of [[antisemitism]].<ref name=side/><ref name=affair/> In his letters to Hess, he wrote, "In my experience, [Jews] never do anything out of goodwill. They act merely out of selfishness or a desire to show off .... among selfish and inconsiderate people, they are the most selfish and inconsiderate... all others exist to be fleeced."<ref name=reveal/>

==References==
{{Reflist|1}}

==Further reading==
* Asbrink, Brita (Summer 2002). [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_nobels_asbrink.html "The Nobels in Baku"] in ''Azerbaijan International'', Vol 10.2, 56–59.
* Evlanoff, M. and Fluor, M. ''Alfred Nobel – The Loneliest Millionaire''. Los Angeles, Ward Ritchie Press, 1969.
* {{Cite journal |last1=Jorpes |first1=J. E. |date=January 3, 1959 |title=Alfred Nobel |journal=BMJ |volume=1 |issue=5113 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1136/bmj.1.5113.1 |pmid=13608066 |pmc=1992347}}
* Schück, H, and Sohlman, R., (1929). ''The Life of Alfred Nobel'', transl. [[Brian Lunn]], London: William Heineman Ltd.
* Sohlman, R. ''The Legacy of Alfred Nobel'', transl. Schubert E. London: The Bodley Head, 1983 (Swedish original, ''Ett Testamente'', published in 1950).
* [[s:U.S. Patent 78317|Alfred Nobel US Patent No 78,317]], dated 26 May 1868

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Alfred Nobel|wikt=Alfred Nobel|n=Alfred Nobel|s=Author:Alfred Nobel}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Alfred_Nobel_Recorded_by_Dimitri_O_Ledenyov_and_Viktor_O_Ledenyov.ogg|date=2 November 2016}}
* [https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/ The Man Behind the Prize  – Alfred Nobel ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20021009142637/http://www.nobel.no/eng_com_will1.html Biography at the Norwegian Nobel Institute]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063125/http://www.eanw.info/nobel.html Documents of Life and Activity of The Nobel Family. Under the editorship of Professor Arkady Melua. Series of books.] (mostly in Russian)
* {{PM20|FID=pe/022685}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname= |sopt=w}}
* [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338139787_Alfred_Nobel_and_his_unknown_coworker Alfred Nobel and his unknown coworker]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nobel, Alfred}}
[[Category:Alfred Nobel| ]]
[[Category:1833 births]]
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[[Category:19th-century Swedish businesspeople]]
[[Category:19th-century Swedish chemists]]
[[Category:19th-century Swedish engineers]]
[[Category:19th-century Swedish philanthropists]]
[[Category:19th-century Swedish scientists]]
[[Category:Bofors people]]
[[Category:Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen]]
[[Category:Engineers from Stockholm]]
[[Category:Explosives engineers]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Nobel family|Alfred]]
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