The Nobel Prize award is a set of annual awards presented to persons who have “conferred the greatest benefit to humanity,” according to Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel.
Nobel was a writer, inventor, entrepreneur, scientist, and businessman. When Nobel died, he donated the majority of his assets to create these prizes, which reflect each of his passions. Physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace are the categories. There is also the Prize in Economic Sciences, which was established in 1968 thanks to a contribution from Sweden’s national bank, Sveriges Riksbank.
Nobel Prize award nomination process
The Nobel Prize nomination process begins each year in September, with hundreds of academics, scientists, past winners, and legislative members submitting nominees. The nominators “are picked in such a way that as many countries and universities as feasible are represented over time,” according to the Nobel Prize organization.
Nobel specified in his will that Swedish institutions would choose the winners of the Nobel Prize, while the Norwegian Parliament would choose the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He also requested that the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony be hosted in Norway. Today, Nobel Day is commemorated by awarding the Nobel Prize on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. The other Nobel Prizes are given in Stockholm, Sweden, at the request of Alfred Nobel.
The only time the annual event was not held was during World War I and II, when no prizes were awarded. There are also a few occasions of individual Nobel Prizes not being granted, such as in 1972 when the Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded, with the committee unable to provide an explanation.
Nobel Prize award winners of 2022
This year, all categories were rewarded, including the prize for economic sciences. The awards can be shared by up to three individuals or organizations
- Nobel Prize in Physics: Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger for their “groundbreaking experiments” in quantum mechanics
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless for developing bioorthogonal and click chemistry
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Svante Pääbo for work on the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution
- Nobel Prize in Literature: Annie Ernaux, a French writer whose work “uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”
- Nobel Peace Prize: Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian group Memorial, and the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine. “They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy,” the Nobel Peace Prize committee writes.
- Prize in Economic Sciences: Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond, and Philip H. Dybvig for bank and financial crisis research
Nobel Prize worth
Nobel Prize award money comes from Nobel, who wanted his fortune invested in a prize fund. The interest on the money is now utilized to fund the rewards. Last year’s prize money was 10 million krona, or about $900,000.
Who is the most famous Nobel Prize winner?
While some of the Nobel Prize’s recorded recipients are remembered for their contributions more than their celebrity, there are several well-known household names who have been honoured over the century.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to four US Presidents and one Vice President:
- President Woodrow Wilson in 1920
- President Jimmy Carter in 2002
- Vice President Al Gore in 2007
- President Barack Obama in 2009
Other notable laureates, according to the Nobel Prize archives:
- Marie Curie won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics along with her husband Pierre. Curie also won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Ivan Pavlov won the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Albert Einstein won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Ernest Hemingway won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Martin Luther King Jr. won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize
- Mother Teresa won the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize
- Desmond Tutu won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize
- Elie Wiesel won the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize
- Toni Morrison won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Malala Yousafzai was one of two recipients of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize
- Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature
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