“His existence should have been ended by a merciful doctor at birth,” said the inventor of dynamite… about himself. This ironic “self-portrait” of the world’s richest chemist, as well as an engineer and philanthropist, consists of five strokes: two virtues and three flaws. The Swedish scientist listed his advantages as a habit of keeping his nails clean and not burdening anyone, while he identified his shortcomings as a lack of family, a bad temper, and digestive issues. However, the intriguing facts about Nobel extend far beyond his succinct personal presentation.
Starting Capital
Alfred Nobel’s passion for invention was inherited from his father, Emmanuel Nobel, a graduate of a technological institute. This man was responsible for various developments, ranging from plywood to torpedoes. Starting with the production of machines for assembling wagon wheels, inventing inflatable mattresses, and creating floating bridges, his father transformed the family’s life after inventing the underwater mine. Capitalizing on military contracts during the Crimean War, the arms manufacturer and explosives researcher established an industrial dynasty that included four sons, one of whom was Alfred Nobel.
The future inventor of dynamite was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833, and from the age of nine lived with his family in St. Petersburg, where the head of the family opened a mechanical factory. Emmanuel Nobel received 25,000 imperial rubles from the military department to organize the production of mines, ensuring a profitable future for three generations of the family in a foreign land. For 80 years, from 1837 to 1918, the renowned Swedes developed Russian industry—metallurgy, machine engineering, oil extraction, and refining.
The Nobel Family (Alfred on the right)
Current Direction
Despite attending school for only a year and a half, Alfred and his brothers knew five European languages from childhood and mastered the natural sciences at home. After spending seven years in Northern Palmyra, 16-year-old Alfred was introduced to Europe and America, where, following in his father’s footsteps, he became fascinated with studying the properties of explosives.
The foundation for Nobel’s scientific experiments in Paris was nitroglycerin, invented in Italy in 1847. A memorable encounter with researcher Ascanio Sobrero, who synthesized this substance but warned against working with it due to its high explosiveness, left a lasting impression on the young man. Nobel became intrigued by the commercial prospects of explosives, which were more powerful than gunpowder. In the 1850s, its introduction could have accelerated the construction of the Suez Canal, shortening the time for intercontinental freight transport.
In the United States, the young researcher was able to experiment in the laboratory of American inventor of Swedish descent John Ericsson. Under his mentorship, Nobel debuted in independent experiments and moved closer to the idea of the explosive that would bring him worldwide fame but would also claim his brother.
Nobel’s Patent for Nitroglycerin
Victims and Acquisitions
A tragedy occurred on September 3, 1864: during an experiment with an active substance that reduces the explosiveness of glycerin, an accident happened at the Nobel factory in Stockholm. The explosion claimed several lives, including that of Alfred’s younger brother, 20-year-old Emil. This heavy loss devastated their father: he suffered a stroke and never recovered.
However, Alfred resolutely continued his experiments, and a month after the tragedy, he received his first patent. The engineer would later secure patents for dynamite and detonators. Discovering that the explosive power of the substance increased when granular gunpowder was immersed in it, the following year, he developed a safe-to-transport mixture that only exploded upon detonation. For this, Nobel mixed diatomaceous earth—a stabilizing powder made from the shells of mollusks—with nitroglycerin. This substance, named dynamite, brought Nobel immense wealth. “I will be satisfied if one out of a thousand ideas bears fruit,” Nobel once said.
Explosion at the Nobel Factory
With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the demand for dynamite remained high: the need for convenient explosives in construction and mining was measured in hundreds of tons, and the patent holder opened dozens of enterprises worldwide. The factories operated on a franchise basis, enriching Nobel while allowing him to remain focused on his scientific work.
Talented in Everything
In the fields of chemistry, biology, medicine, optics, and metallurgy, Alfred Nobel made 355 inventions. Each of them was popularized through lectures demonstrating the properties of substances or the capabilities of devices. Nobel developed smokeless explosives like ballistite, nitrocellulose, artificial silk, a rubber substitute, as well as a pressure-resistant steam boiler, a refrigeration unit, an automatic brake, a gas meter, a water meter, and a barometer. In 1884, the scientific community elected Nobel as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and in 1893, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University.
For many, it was a revelation that alongside chemistry and physics, Nobel was also passionate about literature. “A hermit without books and ink is already dead in life,” Alfred wrote in a poem in French titled “Harriet.” In the breaks between his work, the researcher expressed himself in poetry and prose, without the intention of publishing his literary works. His most famous piece was the play about the parricide Beatrice Cenci, titled “Nemesis.” This four-act tragedy about a real historical figure who took the life of a 16th-century Roman aristocrat was completed at the end of his life, but after his death, the church demanded the destruction of the print run, accusing the author of blasphemy. The surviving three copies allowed for a revival of the play at the Stockholm Dramatic Theatre in 2005.
General Rehearsal
Fate gave Nobel the opportunity to evaluate his life from the outside. In 1888, newspapers reported his death, confusing Alfred with his brother Ludwig, who had died in Cannes. The premature obituary, condemning the “merchant of death” for profiting from arms sales, prompted Nobel to make statements about pacifism. Although society received them with sarcasm, the headlines about the “millionaire of blood” could not help but impact the consciousness of the “dynamite king.” Nobel began to ponder the legacy he would leave behind. Had he truly lived his life in scientific asceticism only to be remembered in history as a “serial killer” and a “world-class villain”?
Nobel never married and had no children, so he felt no need to consult anyone about managing his estate. Without the knowledge of relatives, friends, or colleagues, the inventor left the majority of his multimillion-dollar fortune in a trust that would fund awards known as the Nobel Prize.
Nobel Prize Laureate Medal
Shortly before his death, unexpectedly for everyone, the inventor drafted a will in which he ordered the sale of his shares in businesses and the investment of the funds in reliable assets, with the profits from the shares to be distributed annually among five scientists who had made the greatest contributions to humanity in the fields of physics, chemistry, and medicine. The prize was also designated for achievements in literature, contributions to peace, and the promotion of disarmament.
Serious Crime
After being accused of treason for selling ballistite to Italy, Alfred Nobel moved from France to San Remo in 1891, where he died at the age of 63 from a brain hemorrhage.
“War is the most terrible crime,” said the “father of dynamite” at the peace congress in 1889, “so I would like to leave humanity such a safeguard that would protect it for all time.”
Nobel did not create a more fearsome weapon to hold the planet accountable; that was left to his successors, but the world was not deterred by their threats. Centuries pass, yet wars continue, and Nobel’s companies still profit from arms sales, even without hiding their founder’s name in their titles.