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Alfred Nobel’s Will

Alfred Nobel. Image: nobelprize.org.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel signed his will on November 27, 1895, in Paris, France. The part of Nobel’s will pertaining to the Prize:

“The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way: the capital, invested in safe securities by my executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses. The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiology or medical works by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not.”

A draft ended by stating that the most worthy shall receive the prize “…man or woman.”

Alfred Nobel’s will, 27 November 1895, page 1. Date: October 2011. Source Wikimedia Commons.

Alfred Nobel’s last will dated November 27th, 1895. Date: December 2008. Source: Wikimedia commons

Alfred Nobel signed his will: Paris date 27 November 1895 Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Source: nobelprize.org.

Ragnar Sohlman, [1870-1948], chemical engineer. Alfred Nobel’s lab assistant. 36 yrs. younger to Alfred Nobel. Later, along with Engineer Rudolf Lilljequist, he was executor of Nobel’s will. If not for him, the will would not have materialized. It would have been a piece of paper in a museum. Nobel’s assets were located in several countries. Sohlman and Lilljequist moved the assets to Sweden. French authorities would possibly obstruct the assets being taken out of France. From the banks in Paris, on a horse drawn carriage, they collected the shares, bonds and other documents. In crates, they shipped the documents by rail to Sweden as registered luggage!
Author of book, ‘The legacy of Alfred Nobel: the story behind the Nobel prizes’. This book is written with great love and respect for his boss. Image: nobelprize.org.

Main building of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Frescati, Norra Djurgården, Stockholm. This Institute selects the persons to be awarded The Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry. Image: Wikimedia commons.

The Royal Caroline Medico-Surgical Institute at Hantverkargatan in Stockholm. This Institute selects the persons to be awarded The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Image: nobelprize.org.

The Swedish Academy, Stockholm, founded in 1786 by Swedish King Gustav III. The Nobel Committee, elected for a 3 year term from among its 18 members, selects the person [s] to be awarded The Nobel Prize for Literature. Photo: Wikipedia.

Norwegian Storting [Parliament], Oslo. A committee of five persons elected by the Norwegian Storting selects the persons to be awarded The Nobel Prize for Peace. Image: Norwegian Storting

Nobel Peace Center, museum about the Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, Norway. Author Sean Hayford O’Leary. 30 July 2007. Source: Flickr/Wikimedia Commons.

Nobel Peace Center entrance, Oslo, Norway. Author: AMIRBL25. Source: Wikimedia Commons. 20 July 2006

The first Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in 1901 at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. Source: nobelprize.org.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL… THE STRUGGLE OVER ALFRED NOBEL’S TESTAMENT By Irwin Abrams. Published in Scanorama (November 1994): 18-20, as “Nobel’s Lieutenants.” Illustrated.