Nobel Prizes & Laureates
The Nobel Prizes were established through the 1895 will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, and were first awarded in 1901 across five categories: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was added in 1968. Nobel Prizes in science and literature are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, whereas the Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Oslo, Norway. Marie Curie became the first person to win two Nobel Prizes in different scientific fields (Physics in 1903, Chemistry in 1911). Prominent Indian and Indian-origin laureates include Rabindranath Tagore (Literature 1913, the first non-European laureate), C. V. Raman (Physics 1930), Mother Teresa (Peace 1979), Amartya Sen (Economics 1998), and Kailash Satyarthi (Peace 2014).
Key Concepts & Examination Highlights
- Alfred Nobel established the prizes in his 1895 will; the first ceremonies took place in Stockholm and Oslo in 1901.
- Marie Curie is the only individual to receive Nobel Prizes in two distinct scientific fields (Physics 1903, Chemistry 1911).
- Rabindranath Tagore was the first Asian and non-European Nobel laureate, receiving the Literature prize in 1913 for Gitanjali.
- The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, while all other prizes are awarded in Stockholm.
- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has won the Nobel Peace Prize a record three times (1917, 1944, 1963).