Nobel Prize Winner List of Nobel Prize Winner

The Nobel Prizesare prizes generally awarded to people (and also to organisations in the case of the Nobel Peace Prize) who have done outstanding research, invented groundbreaking techniques or equipment, or made outstanding contributions to society. In the areas they are awarded in, the Prizes are widely regarded as the supreme commendation in the world today. As of March 2005, a total of 770 Nobel Prizes have been given. However, a few prize winners have declined the award.

The prize is occasionally awarded to those who persevered through critical moments in a process despite the risk of failure. Also, there may be one or more years in which a prize or prizes may not be awarded; however, prizes must be awarded at least once every five years. It is possible that a prize is given to some little-known individual or group. This has happened most often with the Peace Prize. The prize cannot be revoked.

About the Nobel Prize

The first ceremony to award the Nobel Prizes in literature, physics, chemistry, and medicine was held at the Old Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm in 1901:
Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to Jacobus H. van't Hoff (pioneering work in stereochemistry and thermodynamics)
Nobel Prize in Physics was given to Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (discovered X rays)
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was given to Emil Adolf von Behring (for work on serum immunization against diphtheria and tetanus)
Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Rene F. A. Sully Prudhomme (French poet)
Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Jean Henri Dunant (founder of Red Cross) and Frédéric Passy (founder of the International League for Permanent Peace)

Since 1902, the King of Sweden has formally awarded all the prizes, except the Nobel Peace Prize, in Stockholm. King Oscar II initially did not approve of awarding grand national prizes to foreigners, but is said to have changed his mind after realising the publicity value of the prizes for the country.

The Nobel Peace Prize is given in Oslo, Norway, by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. At first, starting in 1901, it was given by the President of Norwegian Parliament. The Norwegian Nobel Committee was established in 1904. Its five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) and it is entrusted both with the preparatory work related to prize adjudication and with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize. Its members are independent and do not answer to lawmakers. Members of the Norwegian government are not allowed to take part in it.

The prizes are awarded at a formal ceremony held annually on December 10, the date that Alfred Nobel passed away. However, different committees and institutions that serve as selection boards for the prizes typically announce the names of the laureates in October. Each award can be given to a maximum of three people per year.

Each prize constitutes a gold medal, a diploma, and a sum of money. The monetary award is quite large, currently about 10 million Swedish Kronor (slightly more than one million Euros or about 1.3 million US dollars). This was originally intended to allow laureates to continue working or researching without the pressures of raising money (In actual fact, many prize winners have retired before winning, and many Literature winners have been silenced by it, even if younger). If there are multiple winners of one subject, the award money is split equally among the winners.

Categories of Nobel Prize

Prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 for achievements in:
Nobel Prize in Physics (decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (decided by the Karolinska Institutet)
Nobel Prize in Literature (decided by the Swedish Academy)
Nobel Prize in Peace (decided by a committee appointed by the Norwegian Storting)

List of Nobel Prize winners