Immanuel Nobel | |
|---|---|
 Picture of Immanuel Nobel, the younger | |
| Born | 24 March 1801 |
| Died | 3 September 1872(1872-09-03) (aged 71) |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, architect, inventor, industrialist |
| Known for | Inventing the Rotary lathe |
| Spouse | Karolina Ahlsell |
| Children | |
| Family | Nobel |
Immanuel Nobel the Younger (/noʊˈbɛl/noh-BEL,Swedish:[nʊˈbɛlː]; 24 March 1801 – 3 September 1872) was aSwedish engineer, architect, inventor and industrialist. He was the inventor of therotary lathe used inplywood manufacturing and also designed and worked on several inventions such as an improvedunderwater mine used in theCrimean war.[1] He was a member of theNobel family and the father ofRobert Nobel,Ludvig Nobel,Alfred Nobel andEmil Oskar Nobel. In 1827, he married the children's mother, Andriette Ahlsell.[2][3] Nobel also often experimented withnitroglycerin with his sons, one of whom, Emil, died from an explosion at his father's factoryHeleneborg inStockholm in 1864. Nobel suffered a stroke and died on 3 September 1872.
 |
As Nobel's family could not afford formal education, his father taught him how to read and write. At the age of 14, Nobel became a sailor, then after his return to Sweden in 1819 when he was 18, he went into the building industry.[1] Sometime between 1822 and 1825, Nobel attended lessons at theSwedish University of Agricultural Science's engineering college inStockholm. In 1827, he marriedAndriette Ahlsell, of whose children eight survived infancy.[4]
In 1833, Nobel became bankrupt after failing to start business in his nativeSweden. After a few years,[when?] Nobel, without his family, moved first toFinland, and then toSt. Petersburg, Russia. Here he was attached to theEvangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Katarina along with other Swedes such asJohan Patrik Ljungström, with whom he may have collaborated.[5] Nobel started a mechanical workshop, Fonderies et Ateliers Mécaniques Nobel Fils, making military equipment for the Russian army.[1] During theCrimean War, Nobel worked on improving naval mines thatNicholas I took interest in using in the war.[6] During this time, Nobel also invented several machine tools and a system for central heating.[1] After the end of the Crimean War in 1856, and with a consequent cutting of the military budget by the newTsar Alexander II, his company began facing financial difficulties.[6][1] Nobel appointed his sonLudvig as director of the business and returned to Sweden with his wife and with two of his other sonsAlfred andEmil.
In 1862, Immanuel's firm was sold by his creditors.[6]
Upon Nobel's return to Sweden, he and his sons began experimenting withNitroglycerin. An explosion at nitroglycerin factory inHeleneborg,Sweden[7] on 3 September 1864 killed his sonEmil and several others. Shortly after the explosion,[when?] Nobel suffered a stroke and was confined to his bed during this time he wrote the paper”Försök till anskaffande af arbetsförtjenst till förekommande af den nu, genom brist deraf tvungna utvandringsfebern", published after his death in 1870.[8][4] Nobel would not recover from the stroke. He died on 3 September 1872.[1] Nobel's sonAlfred would continue his work with nitroglycerin going on to inventdynamite, after his death in 1896 he gave his to establish theNobel Prizes and theNobel Foundation, which manages them in his family's namesake, in 1900 and 1901 respectively.[9][10]
Media related toImmanuel Nobel at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
