ALFRED NOBEL AND HIS MOST FAMOUS INVENTION
1. Alfred Nobel, an inventor and engineer from Sweden, was born on the 21st of October, 1833 in Stockholm. His father Immanuel Nobel was in the construction business in his hometown. In 1837, however, he went bankrupt, and decided to go to Russia without his family to open a new business in St. Petersburg. In 1842, the rest of the family joined him.
2. Alfred got a perfect education and succeeded in learning both humanities and science. He received his education in the USA and in Paris where he carried out experiments with an explosive nitroglycerine liquid. When his father lost his fortune again, the family returned to Stockholm.
3. Being in Stockholm, Alfred and his younger brother established a laboratory where they started experimenting with nitroglycerine. Unfortunately, there were several explosions in their laboratory that caused some people deaths. Since then, experiments with explosives were forbidden within the city limits.
4. But it didn't stop Alfred. He continued his work out of the city. He was looking for the ways to transport explosives safely and to control the detonation of nitroglycerine. Alfred made a mixture of nitroglycerine and silica as a paste that could be shaped easily. This new explosive was patented in 1867 as "dynamite". His next invention was a blasting cap (detonator) which could be fired by lighting a fuse. Dynamite and blasting caps were in great demand, and in the course of time, more than 20 countries started manufacturing them.
5. Alfred Nobel was also successful in the development of synthetic rubber, leather, and artificial silk. He worked hard and had little time for private life. He also showed a great interest to social and peace-related problems, literature and poetry and published some of his works. At the same time, Alfred was not a public person. He had no family. He died in Italy on the 10th of December 1896.
6. Nobel's will shocked his relatives. According to it, his capital was to be invested to form a fund that awards the Nobel Prize to people whose works in different fields brought the greatest benefit to humanity. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. The Prizes are awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology and Medicine, Literature, Economics, and Peace. The ceremony is held annually in Stockholm on the 10th of December.
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