Alfred Nobel Biography in English

Alfred Nobel. He was a scientist, inventor, businessman, and founder of the Nobel Prizes. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden at October 21, 1833. His father's name was Emanuel Nobel, and mother's name was Henriette Alsell Nobel. His father was a Swedish engineer, architect, inventor, and industrialist, and he was third of the eight children of his parents. His father appointed private tutor to educate Alfred. He especially loved chemistry and languages. He was fluent in English, German, French, and Russian. He studied under the chemist Nikolai Zinin and went to Paris in 1850. Such was his love for chemistry that he went to the United States as an 18-year-old to further his knowledge on the subject. He loved literature from a young age and used to write poetry. His parents were opposed to his literary pursuits, so he never got his work published. He started working in his father's factory after completing his studies. Alfred was deeply interested in studying explosives and obsessively experimented with nitroglycerin. A tragic accident happened at the shed used for preparing nitroglycerin, in which five people, including his younger brother, Emil, were killed. Nobel became more focused on developing explosives that were safer than nitroglycerin. Later he found that when nitroglycerin was combined with an absorbent inert substance, it became more convenient to handle and safer to use. This new substance, dynamite, was patented in 1867 and adopted in wide usage in mining internationally. It was the first safely manageable explosive that was stronger than black powder. Continuing his fascination with nitroglycerin, he mixed it with nitrocellulose compounds and developed a transparent, jelly-like substance, which was even more powerful than dynamite. It was called gelignite and patented in 1876. Gelignite was more stable and better for the purpose of mining. He formulated a smokeless propellant made from nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin, which also contained 10% camphor. This mixture was called Ballastite and was patented next year. He fell in love with a Russian girl called Alexandra, who rejected his proposal. He later developed feelings for his secretary, Bertha Kinskey, and they had a close friendship until his death He met Sophie Hess in 1876 and developed a relationship with her that lasted for 18 years. He never married or had children His brother Ludwig died in Caen, in 1888, a French newspaper wrongly published the obituary of Alfred Nobel, stating that the merchant of death is dead. Alfred was highly upset to realise that this was how he would be remembered after his death. He wanted to do something to redeem his reputation and left a major portion of his massive wealth for the creation of an international prize fund for honoring eminent personalities in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace. His last will, signed on 27 November, 1895 laid the foundation for the prize. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. He held a total of 355 different patterns. He has an element in the periodic table named after him called nobelium. He died of an intracerebral hemorrhage at San Remo, Italy on December 10, 1896, at the age of 63. If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied, said Alfred Nobel.