 The Nobel Foundation crest[1] | |
| Formation | June 29, 1900; 125 years ago (1900-06-29) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Stockholm,Sweden |
| Website | nobelprize.org/the-nobel-foundation |
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TheNobel Foundation[a] is a private institution founded on 29 June 1900 to manage the finances and administration of theNobel Prizes.[2] The foundation is based on the last will ofAlfred Nobel, the inventor ofdynamite.[3]
It also holds Nobel Symposia on important breakthroughs in science and topics of cultural or social significance.
Alfred Nobel (Alfred Bernhard Nobelⓘ; born 21 October 1833, inStockholm, Sweden) was a chemist, engineer, innovator, armaments manufacturer and the inventor ofdynamite. He ownedBofors, a major armaments manufacturer, which he had redirected from its original business as an iron and steel mill. Nobel held 355 different patents,dynamite being the most famous. Nobel amassed a sizeable personal fortune during his lifetime, thanks mostly to this invention.[4] In 1896 Nobel died of a stroke[5] in hisvilla inSan Remo, Italy, where he had lived his final years.[6][7][8]
Nobel's will expressed a request, to the surprise of many,[7] that his money be used for prizes inphysics,chemistry,peace,physiology ormedicine andliterature.[8][9] Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime, the last was written a little over a year before he died, and signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on 27 November 1895.[10] Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets, 31 millionSwedishkronor, to establish and endow the five Nobel Prizes.[11] (As of 2024 that equates to 266 million US dollars.)
"The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way:
The capital shall be invested by my executors in safe securities and shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or medical works by Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm; and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my expressed wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, so that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not."
— Alfred Nobel, Alfred Nobel's Will[7][12]
The executors of his will wereRagnar Sohlman andRudolf Lilljequist who formed the Nobel Foundation to take care of Nobel's fortune and organize the prizes.[13] Although Nobel's will established the prizes, his plan was incomplete and, because of various other hurdles, it took five years before the Nobel Foundation could be established and the first prizes could be awarded on 10 December 1901 to, among others,Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen.[7][14][15] As of 31 December 2020, the assets controlled by the Nobel Foundation amounted to 5.2 billion Swedishkronor (approx. US$630 million as of 31 December 2020).[6][16]
The Nobel Foundation was founded as a private organisation on 29 June 1900 specifically to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes.[17] It is based on Nobel's last will and testament.[3] At the time Nobel'swill led to much skepticism and criticism and thus it was not until 26 April 1897 that his will was approved by theStorting.[18] Soon thereafter they appointed the members of theNorwegian Nobel Committee that was to award thePeace Prize. Shortly after, the other prize-awarding organizations followed; Karolinska Institutet on 7 June, the Swedish Academy on 9 June and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 11 June.[19][20] In 1900 the Nobel Foundation's newly createdstatutes were promulgated by KingOscar II.[7][13]
In 1905 theUnion between Sweden and Norway was dissolved which meant the responsibility for awarding Nobel Prizes was split between the two countries. Norway'sNobel Committee became the awarder of thePeace Prize while Sweden became the awarder of the other prizes.[13][18]
In accordance with Nobel's will, the primary task of the Nobel Foundation is to manage the fortune Nobel left after him in a fund.[6][13] The Nobel Foundation also represents the Nobel Prize to the outside world and takes charge of informal activities and issues related to the awarding of the Nobel Prizes.[citation needed] The Nobel Foundation is not involved in the process of selecting the Nobel laureates.[13][21] The Nobel Foundation invests money to maintain a funding base for the prizes and the administrative activities. The Nobel Foundation is exempt from all taxes in Sweden (since 1946) and from investment taxes in the United States (since 1953).[22] At the beginning of the 1980s the award money was 1 millionSEK but in 2008 the award money had increased to 10 millionSEK.[18][23]
According to thestatutes the foundation should consist of a Board of five men, with its seat inStockholm. TheChairman of the board should be appointed by theKing in Council.[24] The other four members should be appointed by thetrustees of the prize-awarding institutions. A deputy director should be appointed by theKing in Council and two deputies for the other members appointed by the trustees. Since 1995 all members of the board have been chosen by the trustees and the executive director and the deputy director appointed by the board itself.[24]
Apart from the board, the Nobel Foundation is made up of the prize-awarding institutions (theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences, theNobel Assembly, theSwedish Academy and theNorwegian Nobel Committee), thetrustees of the prize-awarding institutions and auditors.[18][24]
In 1965, the foundation initiated the Nobel Symposia, a program that holds symposia "devoted to areas of science where breakthroughs around the world are occurring or deal with other topics of primary cultural or social significance."[25] The symposia has covered topics such asprostaglandins,chemical kinetics,diabetes mellitus,string theory,cosmology, and theCold War in the 1980s.[26] The Nobel Symposium Committee consists of members from theNobel Committees in Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine; the Prize Committee for Economics; theBank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation; and theWallenberg Foundation.[25]
In 2007, theNobel Charitable Trust, founded byMichael Nobel,Gustaf Nobel,Peter Nobel, and Philip Nobel, announced their plans to establish a new Nobel prize, theMichael Nobel Energy Award, that will award innovations in alternative energy technology. It would be the first new Nobel prize established by the Nobel family since Alfred Nobel established his prizes. However, it would be awarded by theNobel Charitable Trust and not by the Nobel Foundation, although both are organisations founded by the Nobel family.[27][28]
The plan was announced atnanoTX 07. The Nobel Foundation quickly reacted by threatening legal action for "clear misuse of the reputation and goodwill of the Nobel Prize and the associations of integrity and eminence that has been created over time and through the efforts of the Nobel Committees".[29] The director, Michael Sohlman, of the Nobel Foundation and the elected head of the Nobel family disapproved to the institution of the so-called 'Dr. Michael Nobel Award' as well as the Nobel Charitable Trust (NCT) and Nobel Family Benevolent society.[30]
The Nobel Foundation is a private institution established in 1900 based on the will of Alfred Nobel. The Foundation manages the assets made available through the will for the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. It represents the Nobel Institutions externally and administers informational activities and arrangements surrounding the presentation of the Nobel Prize.
After Nobel's death, the Nobel Foundation was set up to carry out the provisions of his will and to administer his funds. In his will, he had stipulated that four different institutions—three Swedish and one Norwegian—should award the prizes. From Stockholm, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences confers the prizes for physics, chemistry, and economics, the Karolinska Institute confers the prize for physiology or medicine, and the Swedish Academy confers the prize for literature. The Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo confers the prize for peace. The Nobel Foundation is the legal owner and functional administrator of the funds and serves as the joint administrative body of the prize-awarding institutions, but it is not concerned with the prize deliberations or decisions, which rest exclusively with the four institutions.
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