Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel was a chemist and manufacturer who in 1867 patented dynamite, a way to make the powerful but dangerous explosive nitroglycerine safe to handle. Dynamite transformed mining, tunnelling, and construction, but it was also used in war, and Nobel grew wealthy from a global explosives business that included armaments. The story goes that a French newspaper mistakenly printed his obituary and called him a 'merchant of death', which troubled him deeply. In his will he left most of his fortune to fund yearly prizes for achievements in the sciences, literature, and peace, the Nobel Prizes first awarded in 1901.