This day in History
Godfather.
Posts: 12,504
December 10: General Interest
1901 : First Nobel Prizes awarded
The first Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The ceremony came on the fifth anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite and other high explosives. In his will, Nobel directed that the bulk of his vast fortune be placed in a fund in which the interest would be "annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, ""shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."" Although Nobel offered no public reason for his creation of the prizes, it is widely believed that he did so out of moral regret over the increasingly lethal uses of his inventions in war.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm in 1833, and four years later his family moved to Russia. His father ran a successful St. Petersburg factory that built explosive mines and other military equipment. Educated in Russia, Paris, and the United States, Alfred Nobel proved a brilliant chemist. When his father's business faltered after the end of the Crimean War, Nobel returned to Sweden and set up a laboratory to experiment with explosives. In 1863, he invented a way to control the detonation of nitroglycerin, a highly volatile liquid that had been recently discovered but was previously regarded as too dangerous for use. Two years later, Nobel invented the blasting cap, an improved detonator that inaugurated the modern use of high explosives. Previously, the most dependable explosive was black powder, a form of gunpowder.
Nitroglycerin remained dangerous, however, and in 1864 Nobel's nitroglycerin factory blew up, killing his younger brother and several other people. Searching for a safer explosive, Nobel discovered in 1867 that the combination of nitroglycerin and a porous substance called kieselguhr produced a highly explosive mixture that was much safer to handle and use. Nobel christened his invention "dynamite," for the Greek word dynamis, meaning "power." Securing patents on dynamite, Nobel acquired a fortune as humanity put his invention to use in construction and warfare.
In 1875, Nobel created a more powerful form of dynamite, blasting gelatin, and in 1887 introduced ballistite, a smokeless nitroglycerin powder. Around that time, one of Nobel's brothers died in France, and French newspapers printed obituaries in which they mistook him for Alfred. One headline read, "The merchant of death is dead." Alfred Nobel in fact had pacifist tendencies and in his later years apparently developed strong misgivings about the impact of his inventions on the world. After he died in San Remo, Italy, on December 10, 1896, the majority of his estate went toward the creation of prizes to be given annually in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The portion of his will establishing the Nobel Peace Prize read, "[one award shall be given] to the person who has done the most or best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Exactly five years after his death, the first Nobel awards were presented.
Today, the Nobel Prizes are regarded as the most prestigious awards in the world in their various fields. Notable winners have included Marie Curie, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Nelson Mandela. Multiple leaders and organizations sometimes receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and multiple researchers often share the scientific awards for their joint discoveries. In 1968, a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was established by the Swedish national bank, Sveriges Riksbank, and first awarded in 1969.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decides the prizes in physics, chemistry, and economic science; the Swedish Royal Caroline Medico-Surgical Institute determines the physiology or medicine award; the Swedish Academy chooses literature; and a committee elected by the Norwegian parliament awards the peace prize. The Nobel Prizes are still presented annually on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. In 2006, each Nobel Prize carried a cash prize of nearly $1,400,000 and recipients also received a gold medal, as is the tradition.
Godfather.
1901 : First Nobel Prizes awarded
The first Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The ceremony came on the fifth anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite and other high explosives. In his will, Nobel directed that the bulk of his vast fortune be placed in a fund in which the interest would be "annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, ""shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."" Although Nobel offered no public reason for his creation of the prizes, it is widely believed that he did so out of moral regret over the increasingly lethal uses of his inventions in war.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm in 1833, and four years later his family moved to Russia. His father ran a successful St. Petersburg factory that built explosive mines and other military equipment. Educated in Russia, Paris, and the United States, Alfred Nobel proved a brilliant chemist. When his father's business faltered after the end of the Crimean War, Nobel returned to Sweden and set up a laboratory to experiment with explosives. In 1863, he invented a way to control the detonation of nitroglycerin, a highly volatile liquid that had been recently discovered but was previously regarded as too dangerous for use. Two years later, Nobel invented the blasting cap, an improved detonator that inaugurated the modern use of high explosives. Previously, the most dependable explosive was black powder, a form of gunpowder.
Nitroglycerin remained dangerous, however, and in 1864 Nobel's nitroglycerin factory blew up, killing his younger brother and several other people. Searching for a safer explosive, Nobel discovered in 1867 that the combination of nitroglycerin and a porous substance called kieselguhr produced a highly explosive mixture that was much safer to handle and use. Nobel christened his invention "dynamite," for the Greek word dynamis, meaning "power." Securing patents on dynamite, Nobel acquired a fortune as humanity put his invention to use in construction and warfare.
In 1875, Nobel created a more powerful form of dynamite, blasting gelatin, and in 1887 introduced ballistite, a smokeless nitroglycerin powder. Around that time, one of Nobel's brothers died in France, and French newspapers printed obituaries in which they mistook him for Alfred. One headline read, "The merchant of death is dead." Alfred Nobel in fact had pacifist tendencies and in his later years apparently developed strong misgivings about the impact of his inventions on the world. After he died in San Remo, Italy, on December 10, 1896, the majority of his estate went toward the creation of prizes to be given annually in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The portion of his will establishing the Nobel Peace Prize read, "[one award shall be given] to the person who has done the most or best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Exactly five years after his death, the first Nobel awards were presented.
Today, the Nobel Prizes are regarded as the most prestigious awards in the world in their various fields. Notable winners have included Marie Curie, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Nelson Mandela. Multiple leaders and organizations sometimes receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and multiple researchers often share the scientific awards for their joint discoveries. In 1968, a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was established by the Swedish national bank, Sveriges Riksbank, and first awarded in 1969.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decides the prizes in physics, chemistry, and economic science; the Swedish Royal Caroline Medico-Surgical Institute determines the physiology or medicine award; the Swedish Academy chooses literature; and a committee elected by the Norwegian parliament awards the peace prize. The Nobel Prizes are still presented annually on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. In 2006, each Nobel Prize carried a cash prize of nearly $1,400,000 and recipients also received a gold medal, as is the tradition.
Godfather.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Godfather.
He made them an offer they couldn't understand.
Boooooooooo!!! :thumbdown:
Don't quit your day job!
it seems since kissinger and obama each have a peace prize its pretty much fooked now. lost all credibility.
I don't blame obama. it's not like he nominated himself. I think they just did it to bash bush personally but I also think it gives us as a country a good image or at least a better one.
I heard that Tiger was changing his name to cheetah.
sorry I had to say it. I heard it at work today.
now they can say in academia- the US secretary of state and a US president have a peace prize, so the US must stand for peace.
reality is the US has become the most violent nation on earth. always seem to have a good reason to fight, but notice they are always fighting.
Really ??? you think so ? I know we are in the middle east and all but I think us as americans are pretty peaceful when you compare us to some other countries.
And what citizens of what other countries aren't peaceful? Who do you have in mind?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... death_rate
Amongst developed nationsThe U.S has the highest number of firearm related homicides:
Country Total firearm-related homicide
United States 11.66
Finland 6.86
Northern Ireland 6.82
Switzerland 6.40
France 6.35
Canada 4.78
Austria 4.56
Norway 4.39
Portugal 3.72
Belgium 3.48
Israel 3.00
Italy 2.95
Australia 2.94
New Zealand 2.66
Denmark 2.60
Sweden 2.36
Germany 1.57
Greece 1.50
Kuwait 1.25
Ireland 1.21
Spain 0.90
Netherlands 0.70
Scotland 0.58
England/ Wales 0.38
Taiwan 0.42
Singapore 0.24
Hong Kong 0.19
South Korea 0.13
Japan 0.07
Although overall, in terms of intentional homicide the U.S ranks 48 out of 120 according to Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... icide_rate
Though this one puts you at 28:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_m ... per-capita
and inner cities in the US probably rank near the top. third world cities.
are you aginst American people owning firearms ?
Godfather.
In light of the amount of damage it does, yes.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
judging by the amount of generations that have been living on welfare and not even interested
in supporting them selfs or the baby's they keep popping out there is a serious lack responsibility there
also, i hate to use the old quote but "people kill not guns".
guys if we keep giving up our rights soon we will end up a true dictatorship,a bunch of sheep following
our goverment to the slaughter.....we the people are supposed to be our goverment and we are loosing that
one new law at a time.
Godfather.
I guarantee you those 4 police officers in Washington would still be alive if guns weren't so easy to obtain. I don't think we can argue that.
no offense my friend but that's weak but while your at it why don't we out-law booze,cigarettes,fast food (to save the fat people from heat attacks) you know all that bad stuff that kills more people than people with guns do.
what needs to done is enforce the death penalty,the world is full of bad people that will kill by any means possible be it with a gun or drugs or a knife etc.,out lawing guns will only limit a Americans means of self defense and the right to keep and bare arms.
all this is only my opinion and from here on out I will keep them to myself..till its time to vote,seems thats all we have to defend our way of life,"voting for the best liar."
Godfather.
it's all good.
Godfather.
So you think the solution to murder is state-sanctioned murder? Murder the murderer!
The death penalty is sick, twisted and ultimately useless. No country can claim to be civilised as long as it engages in the clinical murder of it's citizens.
So many Americans are such pussies. Can't fight without a gun.
And it's funny how many Americans think their government is out to get them. Like if they don't have guns the govt will kill them.
It just goes to show how bad G. Bush had this country, that this country turned to an unknown like Obama to preside over it for 4 years.
I like this quote......Archbishop Desmond Tutu on President Obama:
“He Is Now a Nobel Laureate—Become What You Are”
No matter how or why it was given have your actions speak like the prize.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
your post was clearly to get a me and sounded like the ramblings of a tree hugger.
it's not only a matter of protection to own a gun it's also a right,it's a right your uncle obama
would like to take away from us...wake up skippy and do your home work before you vote
and don't do the internet tough guy thing it's really useless if you can't see beyond the monitor.
have nice day...
Godfather.
You make it sound like a good thing.
Take another look at these stats...I don't see any protection going on here, just death. There's a pretty big drop-off between 1st and 2nd place in the murder rankings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... death_rate
Total firearm-related homicides of developed countries:
United States 11.66
Finland 6.86
Northern Ireland 6.82
Switzerland 6.40
France 6.35
Can you point out where President Obama would like to take this right away?
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)