Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize medal for
Physics, Chemistry,
Physiology (or Medicine)
and Literature

The Nobel Prizes (pronounced no-BELL) are awarded annually to people who have done outstanding research, invented groundbreaking techniques or equipment or made outstanding contributions to society. The prizes were instituted by the final will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist, and the inventor of dynamite. He signed his will at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on November 27, 1895.

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; beginning in 1902, the prizes have been formally awarded by the King of Sweden. King Oscar II did not initially approve of awarding grand national prizes to foreigners, but is said to have changed his mind after realizing the publicity value of the prizes for the country.

The Prizes are awarded at a formal ceremony held annually on December 10, the date that Alfred Nobel passed away. However, the names of the laureates are typically announced already in October, by the different committees and instutitions that serve as selection boards for the prizes.

A large monetary award is included with the Nobel Prizes, currently about 10 million Swedish Kronor (slightly more than one million Euros or US dollars). This was originally intended to allow the persons to continue working or researching without the pressures of raising money. (In actual fact, most prize winners have been too old to be able to do that when getting the prize, and many receivers of the Nobel Prize of Literature have been silenced by it, even if younger.)

Prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 for achievements in:

Physics (decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)
Chemistry (decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)
Physiology or Medicine (decided by the Karolinska Institute)
Literature (decided by the Swedish Academy)
Peace (decided by a committee appointed by the Norwegian Parliament)

When Nobel had died, and his will was opened, none of the deciding bodies had been asked by him whether they would accept the responsibility; they decided to do so after quite a lot of hesitation.

In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank, the Bank of Sweden, instituted the "Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel".

Economics (decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)

Since this prize has no foundation in Nobel's will, and is not paid by his money, it is technically not a Nobel prize (and the present Nobel family does not accept it as such). It is however awarded together with the other Nobel prizes. In 1968, the decision was made not to add any more prizes "in memory of Nobel" in the future.

Other prizes

Some fields without a Nobel prize have instituted prizes of their own which are not as well-known: the Polar Prize in music, the Fields Medal in mathematics, the Turing Award in computing, the Wollaston Medal in geology, the Schock Prizes in logic and philosophy, mathematics, visual arts and musical arts. The Kyoto Prizes are awarded in three categories: Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences, and Arts and Philosophy. The Right Livelihood Awards (also known as "Alternative Nobel Prizes") are awarded to persons who have made important contributions in areas such as environmental protection, peace, human rights, health etc. The humorous IgNobel Prize is a parody which annually honors research "that cannot or should not be repeated".

External links

The Nobel e-Museum - Official site
The Nobel Foundation - Official site
The Nobel Committees of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Nobel Committee of the Karolinska Institute
The Swedish Academy
The Norwegian Nobel Committee
The Nobel Prize Internet Archive - an unofficial site
Timeline of Nobel Winners

Modern Usage: Nobel Prize

Domain

Usage

Screenplays

I think you should try some of that Nobel Prize winner sperm. (Look Who's Talking; writing credit: Amy Heckerling)

Whaddaya think, a fly? Am I becoming a hundred-and-eighty-five-pound fly? I may be becoming something that's never existed before. I'm becoming Brundlefly. Don't you think that's worth a Nobel Prize or two? (The Fly; writing credit: David Cronenberg; George Langelaan)

It's a little experiment that might win me the Nobel Prize. (Futurama; writing credit: Lance Smith; Carl Colpaert)

In New York, we lived next door to the man who won the Nobel Prize in physics. (Something Wilder; writing credit: Ralph Farquhar; Gary Hardwick)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Commercial Usage: Nobel Prize

Photo Album: Nobel Prize

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Front of the medal of the Nobel Prize, featuring a profile of Alfred Nobel.Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.		Riccardo Giacconi, the "father of X-ray astronomy," has received the Nobel Prize in physics ...Credit: NASA.
	Figure 43. Bergius pneumatic sounder. No documentation could be found for the design, construction, or testing of this instrument. It is probable that this instrument was created in the early Twentieth Century by Friedrich Bergius, a 1931 Nobel Prize winner, for study of high pressure chemical reactions.Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.		Marshall Nirenberg's Nobel Prize medal and citation ...Credit: National Library of Medicine.
	"I won the Nobel Prize for literature. What was your crime?".Credit: Library of Congress.		Vincent du Vigneaud, Nobel prize winner in chemistry, half-length portrait, seated at desk, facing slightly left.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Otto Stern, Nobel prize winner in physics, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly left.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Non-Fiction Usage: Nobel Prize

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Among them are 97 scientists who have won the Nobel Prize for achievement in medicine. (references)
		Famous people who are known or rumored to have had epilepsy include the Russian writer Dostoyevsky, the philosopher Socrates, the military general Napoleon, and the inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel, who established the Nobel prize. (references)
Civil Liberties	Hong Kong	However, some observers saw the decision of senior government officials not to meet with the mainland-born Gao Xingjian, the first Chinese to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, during the his January visit to Hong Kong as deference to PRC displeasure with the award to the exiled writer. (references)
Economic History	Iceland	The best known Icelandic writer in this century is the Nobel Prize winner Halldor Laxness. (references)
	Egypt	Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arab to win the Nobel prize for literature. (references)
Travel	Sweden	The Christmas celebration actually begins when the country shuts down for the Nobel prize ceremonies December 10, and the St Lucia festival December 13. Business is usually back to normal after Orthodox Christmas in January. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speeches: Nobel Prize

Expression: Nobel Prize

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Nobel Prize

Modern Translations: Nobel Prize

Language		Translations for "Nobel prize"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Chinese		榮獲諾貝爾獎 . (various references)

Czech		nositel nobelovy ceny (nobel prize winner). (various references)

Danish		Nobel-stiftelsen (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Nobel-prismodtager (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Nobel-pris (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner). (various references)

Dutch		Nobelstichting (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Nobelprijswinnaar (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Nobelprijs (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner). (various references)

Finnish		Nobel-kirjailija (Nobel laureate, Nobel prize-winning writer). (various references)

French		Prix Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Lauréat du Prix Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Fondation Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner). (various references)

German		Nobelpreis (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner). (various references)

Hungarian		Nobel-díj. (various references)

Italian		vincitore del Premio Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Premio Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Fondazione Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		ノーベル賞 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		ノーベルしょう. (various references)

Pig Latin		obelnay izepray

Portuguese		Prémio Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Galardoado com o Prémio Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Fundação Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner). (various references)

Russian		нобелевская премия. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		nobelova nagrada. (various references)

Spanish		Premio Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), ganador del Premio Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner), Fundación Nobel (Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize Winner). (various references)

Swedish		nobelpris. (various references)

Turkish		nobel ödülü. (various references)

Vietnamese		giải thưởng Nô-ben. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Misspellings: Nobel Prize

Anagrams: Nobel Prize

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "b-e-e-i-l-n-o-p-r-z"
	-2 letters: leporine.
	-3 letters: benzole, berline, ebonize, eloiner, obelize, pereion, pioneer, preboil, proline, zebrine.
	-4 letters: belier, benzol, berlin, bizone, boiler, bonier, bonzer, boreen, bronze, eloper, enrobe, lierne, neroli, nobler, oleine, opener, orpine, penile, pereon, pinole, reboil, reline, reopen, repine, rezone.
	-5 letters: belie, bezel, bezil, birle, bleep, boner, bonze, borne, brine, broil, eloin, elope, enrol, irone, leben.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Domain	Title
Books	Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles and Momentous Discoveries (reference) The Nobel Prize : A History of Genius, Controversy and Prestige (reference) Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
Jimmy Carter	1977-1981	The awarding of the Nobel Prize for Peace to Adolfo Perez Esquivel of Argentina for his non-violent advocacy of human rights.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
nobel prize	446	medicine nobel prize	7
nobel prize winner	149	1988 nobel prize	7
2 first nobel prize science scientist who win	78	nobel prize chemistry	7
2 first nobel prize science scientist win	74	faulkners nobel prize speech william	6
nobel prize science	48	1994 nobel prize	5
nobel prize for literature	42	first nobel prize scientist two win	5
nobel prize in literature	17	economics nobel prize winner	4
nobel prize science winner	17	first nobel prize	4
2 nobel prize science	15	economics in nobel prize winner	4
nobel prize economics	14	in literature nobel prize winner	4
john nash nobel prize	14	2002 nobel prize winner	3
1988 nobel prize winner	12	chemistry nobel prize winner	3
2 first nobel prize scientist win	12	john nash nobel prize winner	3
first nobel prize science scientist two win	11	1994 nobel prize winner	3
literature nobel prize winner	9	curie marie nobel prize	3
nobel prize in economics	8	1912 nobel prize winner	3
2 nobel prize science scientist win	8	list nobel prize winner	3
nobel prize in chemistry	8	1930 nobel prize winner	3
2002 nobel prize	8	jewish nobel prize winner	3
nobel prize history	7	2 first nobel prize scientist who win	3
		albert einstein nobel prize	3
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression using "Nobel prize": nobel prize winner. Additional references.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings
	"Nobel Prize" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: nbel prize. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Nobel Prize

Definition: Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize

Noun

Synonym: Nobel Prize

Specialty Definition: Nobel Prize

Crosswords: Nobel Prize

Modern Usage: Nobel Prize

Screenplays

Commercial Usage: Nobel Prize

Books

Photo Album: Nobel Prize

Non-Fiction Usage: Nobel Prize

Speeches: Nobel Prize

Jimmy Carter

Expression: Nobel Prize

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Nobel Prize

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Modern Translations: Nobel Prize

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Finnish

French

German

Hungarian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Vietnamese

Misspellings: Nobel Prize

Misspellings