Things to Know -The Nobel Prize

THE NOBEL PRIZE

HIS LAST WISH IN ACTION

HOW IT STARTED :

November 27, 1895 :

Alfred Nobel signed his third and last wish at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris.

When he died in 1896, it was opened and read. This wish caused a lot of controversies both in Sweden and internationally.

• Nobel had left much of his wealth for the establishment of a prize. 

• His family opposed the establishment of the Nobel Prize.

• The prize awarders he named refused to do what he had requested in his will. 

Five years later, the first-ever Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901.

Fields of Honor :

• physics 
• chemistry 
• physiology or medicine 
• Literature 
• Peace 

The Winner receives...

• A Diploma 
• A large Cash prize 
• A gold medal inscribed with Latin words meaning,

"FOR THE PEACE AND BROTHERHOOD OF MEN"

THE YOUNGEST :

(The Nobel Peace Prize 2014) 

Malala Yousafzai

For the struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education

THE FIRST INDIAN :

(The Nobel Prize in Literature 1913)

Rabindranath Tagore

The first person of Indian origin, first Asian, and first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize.

They declined the Nobel Prize!

1. Jean-Paul Sartre: (1964 Nobel Prize in Literature)

declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honors.

2. Le Duc Tho: (1973 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Henry Kissinger)

They were awarded the Prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace accord. Le Duc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason.

THE MISSING LAUREATE :

Mahatma Gandhi

Nominated for the Peace prize 5 times (1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and 1948. But he was not honored even once.

The later members of the Nobel Committee publicly regretted omitting Mahatma Gandhi. But never revealed any reason behind it.

when Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was “in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi”

1948 decision not to award the prize following the death of MKG has been interpreted as an attempt to respectfully honor 'the missing laureate'