Swedish chemist Nobel Alfred: biography, invention of dynamite, founder of the Nobel Prize. What did Alfred Nobel invent?

Academician, experimental chemist, Doctor of Philosophy, academician, founder of the Nobel Prize, which made him world famous.

Childhood

Alfred Nobel, whose biography is of sincere interest to the modern generation, was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833. He was a native of the peasants of the Swedish southern district of Nobelef, which became a derivative of a surname known throughout the world. In the family, besides him, there were three more sons.

Father Immanuel Nobel was an entrepreneur who, having gone bankrupt, dared to try his luck in Russia. He moved in 1837 to St. Petersburg, where he opened workshops. After 5 years, when things went smoothly, he moved his family to him.

The first experiments of the Swedish chemist

Once in Russia, 9-year-old Nobel Alfred quickly mastered the Russian language, in addition to which he was fluent in English, Italian, German and French. The boy received his education at home. In 1849, his father sent him on a two-year journey through America and Europe. Alfred visited Italy, Denmark, Germany, France, America, but the young man spent most of his time in Paris. There he took a practical course in physics and chemistry in the laboratory of the famous scientist Jules Peluz, who explored oil and discovered nitriles.

Meanwhile, the affairs of Immanuel Nobel, a talented self-taught inventor, improved: he became rich and famous in the Russian service, especially during the Crimean War. His plant produced mines used in the defense of the Finnish Kronstadt and the harbor of Revel in Estonia. The merits of Nobel Sr. were encouraged by the imperial medal, which, as a rule, was not awarded to foreigners.

After the end of the war, orders ceased, the enterprise was idle, many workers were left out of work. This forced Immanuel Nobel to return back to Stockholm.

The first experiments of Alfred Nobel

Alfred, who was in close contact with the famous Nikolai Zinin, meanwhile came to grips with the study of the properties of nitroglycerin. In 1863, the young man returned to Sweden, where he continued his experiments. On September 3, 1864, a terrible tragedy occurred: during the experiments, during the explosion of 100 kilograms of nitroglycerin, several people died, among whom was 20-year-old Emil, Alfred's younger brother. After the incident, Alfred's father was paralyzed, and for the last 8 years he remained bedridden. During this period, Immanuel continued to work actively: he wrote 3 books, for which he himself made illustrations. In 1870, he was excited about the use of waste from the woodworking industry, and Nobel Sr. invented plywood, inventing a method of gluing using a pair of wooden plates.

Invention of dynamite

On October 14, 1864, a Swedish scientist took out a patent allowing him to manufacture an explosive containing nitroglycerin. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1867; its production later brought the scientist the main wealth. The press of that time wrote that the Swedish chemist made his discovery by accident: as if a bottle of nitroglycerin had broken during transportation. The liquid spilled, soaked the soil, resulting in the formation of dynamite. Alfred Nobel did not recognize the above version and insisted that he was deliberately looking for a substance that, when mixed with nitroglycerin, would reduce the explosiveness. The desired neutralizer was diatomaceous earth - a rock also called tripoli.

The Swedish chemist organized a laboratory for the production of dynamite in the middle of a lake on a barge, far from populated areas.

Two months after the start of the floating laboratory, Alfred's aunt brought him together with a merchant from Stockholm, Johan Wilhelm Smith, the owner of a million dollar fortune. Nobel was able to convince Smith and several other investors to unite and form an enterprise for the industrial production of nitroglycerin, which began in 1865. Realizing that the Swedish patent would not protect his rights abroad, Nobel patented his own rights to sell it around the world.

Discoveries of Alfred Nobel

In 1876, the world learned about a new invention of a scientist - an "explosive mixture" - a compound of nitroglycerin with collodion, which had a stronger explosive. The following years are rich in discoveries of the combination of nitroglycerin with other substances: ballistite - the first smokeless powder, then cordite.

Nobel's interests were not limited to working with explosives: the scientist was fond of optics, electrochemistry, medicine, biology, designed safe steam boilers and automatic brakes, tried to make artificial rubber, studied nitrocellulose and There are about 350 patents for which Alfred Nobel claimed rights: dynamite, detonator, smokeless powder, water meter, refrigeration apparatus, barometer, military rocket design, gas burner,

Characteristics of a scientist

Nobel Alfred was one of the most educated people of his time. The scientist read a large number of books on technology, medicine, philosophy, history, fiction, giving preference to his contemporaries: Hugo, Turgenev, Balzac and Maupassant, he even tried to write. The bulk of the works of Alfred Nobel (novels, plays, poems) was never published. Only the play about Beatrice Cenci - "Nemisis" has survived, completed already at death. This tragedy in 4 acts was met with hostility by churchmen. Therefore, the entire published edition, published in 1896, was destroyed after the death of Alfred Nobel, with the exception of three copies. The world had the opportunity to get acquainted with this wonderful work in 2005; it was played in memory of the great scientist on the Stockholm stage.

Contemporaries describe Alfred Nobel as a gloomy man who preferred calm loneliness and constant immersion in work to city bustle and cheerful companies. The scientist led a healthy lifestyle, had a negative attitude towards smoking, alcohol and gambling.

Being quite wealthy, Nobel downright gravitated towards the Spartan lifestyle. Working on explosive mixtures and substances, he was an opponent of violence and murder, doing colossal work in the name of peace on the planet.

Inventions for Peace

Initially, the explosives created by the Swedish chemist were used for peaceful purposes: for laying roads and railways, mining, building canals and tunnels (using blasting). For military purposes, Nobel explosives began to be used only in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871.

The scientist himself dreamed of inventing a substance or a machine that had a destructive power that made any war impossible. Nobel paid for the holding of congresses dedicated to the issues of peace on the planet, and he himself took part in them. The scientist was a member of the Paris Society of Civil Engineers, the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society of London. He had many awards, which he treated very indifferently.

Alfred Nobel: personal life

The great inventor - an attractive man - was never married and had no children. Closed, lonely, distrustful of people, he decided to find himself an assistant secretary and placed an ad in the newspaper. The 33-year-old Countess Berta Sofia Felicita responded - an educated, well-mannered, multilingual girl who was a dowry. She wrote to Nobel, received an answer from him; A correspondence ensued, which aroused mutual sympathy on both sides. Soon there was a meeting between Albert and Bertha; young people walked a lot, talked, and conversations with Nobel gave Bertha great pleasure.

Soon Albert left on business, but Berta could not wait for him and returned home, where Count Arthur von Suttner was waiting for her - the sympathy and love of her life, with whom she started a family. Despite the fact that Bertha's departure was a huge blow for Alfred, their warm friendly correspondence continued until the end of Nobel's days.

Alfred Nobel and Sophie Hess

And yet in the life of Alfred Nobel there was love. At the age of 43, the scientist fell in love with 20-year-old Sophie Hess, a flower shop saleswoman, moved her from Vienna to Paris, rented an apartment near the house and allowed her to spend as much as she wanted. Sophie was only interested in money. Beautiful and graceful "Madame Nobel" (as she called herself), unfortunately, was a lazy person without any education. She refused to study with the teachers whom Nobel hired for her.

The connection between the scientist and Sophie Hess lasted 15 years, until 1891 - the moment when Sophie gave birth to a child from a Hungarian officer. Alfred Nobel peacefully parted with his young girlfriend and even assigned her a very decent allowance. Sophie married her daughter's father, but all the time she annoyed Alfred with requests for an increase in content, after his death she began to insist on this, threatening to publish his intimate letters if she refused. The executors, who did not want the name of their principal to be fluffed up in the newspapers, made concessions: they bought Nobel's letters and telegrams from Sophie and increased her rent.

From childhood, Nobel Alfred was characterized by poor health and was constantly ill; in recent years, he was tormented by heart pains. Doctors prescribed nitroglycerin to the scientist - this circumstance (a kind of irony of fate) amused Alfred, who devoted his life to working with this substance. Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896 at his villa in Sanremo from a cerebral hemorrhage. The grave of the great scientist is located in the Stockholm cemetery.

Alfred Nobel and his prize

When inventing dynamite, Nobel saw its use in aiding human progress, not in murderous wars. But the persecution that began about such a dangerous discovery prompted Nobel to think that another, more significant trace should be left behind. So, the Swedish inventor decided to establish a nominal prize after his death, writing a will in 1895, according to which the main part of the acquired fortune - 31 million crowns - goes to a specially created fund. Returns from investments should be distributed every year in the form of bonuses to people who have brought the greatest benefit to mankind during the previous year. The interest is divided into 5 parts and is intended for a scientist who has made an important discovery in the field of chemistry, physics, literature, medicine and physiology, and who has also made a significant contribution to maintaining peace on the planet.

A special wish of Alfred Nobel was not to take into account the nationality of the candidates.

The Alfred Nobel Prize was first awarded in 1901 to the physicist Roentgen Konrad for the discovery of the rays that bear his name. The Nobel Prizes, which are the most authoritative and honorable international awards, have had a huge impact on the development of world science and literature.

Also in the scientific history of Alfred Nobel, whose testament struck many scientists with his generosity, entered as the discoverer of "nobelium" - a chemical element named after him. The name of the outstanding scientist is given to the Stockholm Institute of Physics and Technology and Dnepropetrovsk University.

Alfred Nobel, talented Swedish inventor. Photo: Wikipedia

On October 21, 1833, the phenomenon of experimental chemistry was born, academician without formal education, Ph.D., founder of the Alfred Nobel Prize Foundation.

A talented Swedish inventor who spent most of his life in Russia "blew up" the world community with the invention of dynamite. In 1863, he patented in Sweden the use of nitroglycerin in technology - for the first time after eight hundred years of the domination of black powder, civilization received a new explosive! Soon - patents for a detonator, dynamite ...

Alfred Nobel wanted to see the application of his scientific developments exclusively in civilian life. Paradoxically, he created explosives at the same time. They were taken into service by the army. But creative projects with the help of his explosives rapidly changed the world: rapid development of rocks for the extraction of ores, coal, oil and gas, tunneling, and later rocket flights became possible. So the dynamite invented by Nobel was in demand all over the world, and its creator became incredibly rich in a few years. Although Alfred Nobel, being an ascetic in everyday life, spent a lot of money on the development of science, by the end of his life he had 31 million crowns, which he donated to the creation of the Nobel Prize.

The great Swede was not deprived of a peculiar sense of humor. For example, in the last years of his life, he was especially tormented by heart pains, and he remarked about his treatment: "Isn't it ironic that I was prescribed to take nitroglycerin! Doctors call it trinitrin so as not to scare pharmacists and patients."

Alfred Nobel was not an exceptional case in his family - his father Immanuel, an architect, builder, entrepreneur, became famous for his inventions in various fields, and his brothers Robert and Ludwig radically re-equipped and developed the oil industry. Alfred himself filed 355 patents, including the right to design a gas burner, a water meter, a barometer, a refrigeration apparatus, and an improved method for producing sulfuric acid. Alfred Nobel was a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London and the Paris Society of Civil Engineers.

Alfred was born in Stockholm, and from the age of 8 he lived with his family in St. Petersburg, therefore he considered Russia his second homeland. He spoke Swedish, Russian, English, German, Italian. A man of high education and a phenomenal mind, Alfred Nobel officially had no education, not even a high school level. After self-education at home, the father sent the young Alfred on an educational journey through the Old and New Worlds. There he met with prominent scientists and became infected with invention.

Returning home, he began to actively study nitroglycerin. At that time, many people died from the inept handling of this hellish "oil". The tragedy also happened to the Nobels - during the experiment, an explosion occurred and swept away eight people along with the laboratory. Among the dead was a twenty-year-old boy, the younger brother of the Nobels - Emil-Oskar. Their father was paralyzed and died eight years later.

The Nobel brothers continued to engage in science and industry. They all invested in the development of science. Especially generous - Alfred. Even for workers at his enterprises, he created comfortable living and working conditions - he built houses, schools and hospitals, where courtyards were decorated with fountains and flower beds; to the work of employees carried free transport. On the use of his inventions by the military, he said: "For my part, I wish that all guns with all their accessories and servants could be sent to hell, that is, to the most proper place for them." Alfred Nobel provided funds for holding congresses in defense of peace. On December 10, 1896, a brain hemorrhage ended his life, it happened in the Italian town of San Remo.

Among the 355 patented inventions of Alfred Nobel were more and less significant for the development of mankind. But five of them are an undoubted breakthrough in science, fundamental innovations in practical use.

1. In 1864, Alfred Nobel created a series of ten blasting caps. They differed little from each other, but the detonator cap No. 8 found the widest application, which is how it is still called, although there is no other numbering. Detonators are needed to detonate the charge. The fact is that the charges react poorly to other influences, but they pick up even a tiny explosion near them well. And the detonator is created in such a way that it reacts to an insignificant impact - a flame or even a spark, friction, impact. The detonator easily "picks up" the condition for the explosion and brings it to the charge.

2. In 1867, Alfred Nobel curbed uncontrolled nitroglycerin and got dynamite. To do this, he mixed volatile nitroglycerin with diatomaceous earth, a porous rock also called mountain flour and diatomaceous earth. It occurs in abundance at the bottom of reservoirs, so the material is available and cheap, but completely pacified the explosive nitroglycerin. The paste-like substance can be molded and transported - it does not explode without a detonator, even from shaking and arson. Its power is slightly lower than nitroglycerin, it is still 5 times more powerful than its predecessor explosive - black powder. For the first time, dynamite was used in the United States when laying the Pacific Railroad. Now the compositions of dynamites are different. They are little used in military affairs, often in the mining industry and for tunneling.

3. In 1876, Alfred Nobel obtained an explosive jelly by combining nitroglycerin and kolodium. A mixture of two explosives gave rise to a super-explosive, superior in power to dynamite. This is a jelly-like transparent substance, therefore the first names were - explosive jelly, dynamite gelatin. To modern chemists, the substance is known as gelignite. Kolodiy is a thick liquid, a solution of pyroxylin (nitrocellulose) in a mixture of ether and alcohol. And after testing the combination of nitroglycerin with kolodium, experiments with the combination of nitroglycerin with potassium nitrate, with wood pulp, followed. In modern production, fulminate jelly is usually used as an intermediate raw material for the preparation of other explosives - ammonium nitrate and gelatin dinamites.

4. The filing of a patent for ballistite by Alfred Nobel in 1887 turned into a scandal. This is one of the first nitroglycerin smokeless powders, it consists of powerful explosives - nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. Ballistites have been used to this day - they are used in mortars, artillery pieces, and also as solid rocket fuel, if a little aluminum or magnesium powder is added to them to increase the heat of combustion. But ballistite also has a "descendant" - cordite. The difference in composition is minimal and the cooking methods are almost identical. Nobel assured that the description of the production of ballistite also included a description of the production of cordite. But other scientists, Abel and Dewar, indicated a more convenient variety of a substance with a volatile solvent for the production of cordite, and the right to invent cordite was assigned to them by the court. The final products, ballistite and cordite, have a lot in common in properties.

5. In 1878, Alfred Nobel, working for a family oil company, invented the oil pipeline - a method of continuous transportation of a liquid product. It was built, like everything progressive, also with a scandal, because the oil pipeline, although it reduced the cost of production by 7 times, but unprecedentedly reduced the jobs of oil carriers in barrels. The construction of the Nobel oil pipeline was completed in 1908, and it was dismantled not so long ago, that is, it served for more than a hundred years! And when its construction was started, oil production was in its infancy - the product flowed by gravity from wells to earthen pits. From the pits, it was scooped out in buckets into barrels, which were taken on carts to sailboats, then along the Caspian Sea and the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod, and from there - throughout Russia. Ludwig Nobel put steel tanks instead of pits, invented the cistern and the tanker, which still serve the industrialists. According to the ideas of his brother Alfred, he built steam pumps, applied new methods of chemical oil refining. The product has become of excellent quality, the best in the world, indeed - "black gold".

Swedish engineer, chemist, inventor (had about 350 patents from different countries), a successful entrepreneur (his capital was invested in enterprises for more than 20 countries), founder of the international award bearing his name.

Born in the family of an inventor and entrepreneur Emmanuel Nobel who acquired almost all his knowledge through self-education. The father believed that his four sons should receive a good education and be sure to undergo an internship at his enterprises.

"According to biographers Alfred Nobel, he only attended school for a year (apparently due to poor health and the inability to resist peers). At the same time, he always impressed those around him with his extraordinary and deep knowledge in various fields, especially in the degree of knowledge of foreign languages.
Later, Alfred even wrote several works in non-native English, and his excellent ability to express thoughts in English, French and German served invaluable service during the period when Nobel promoted his inventions and products to the markets of other countries and independently acted as a distributor and marketer of everything that created.
Even the father, not too prone to any kind of praise, frankly admired his son, who, thanks to the endless thirst to catch up with his peers, turned into a living encyclopedia. Of course, it was important that the Nobel father, by the time of his sons' youthful maturity, could already pay for their private lessons, and among the teachers there were famous scientists in the country. Surprising is the fact that in the confused and receptive soul of Alfred there was a place for both sentimental poetry and fundamental sciences. The motivation of knowledge, which is always rooted in any ideas, came to Alfred due to his misfortunes - due to morbidity and fragile sensitivity, he was always an outcast in the world of peer boys.
At first she was just psychological protection, immunity against involuntary expropriation. Over time, the boy began to notice that there were areas where he could be better than others, and even later he realized that vulnerability was not only of a physical nature. The more problems he experienced from real communication with people, the more he focused on knowledge and finding himself in scientific research. The shocks of early childhood became for the young Nobel an inexhaustible source of energy and a unique nourishment for the will.
Life Alfred Nobel, never not studied at a university or other higher educational institution, is a clear proof that for real success, both real knowledge and formal education have always been of little importance, but the greatest role in the development of a person has played and will always play orientation and the ability to be true to the once chosen path.

Badrak V.V., Strategies of brilliant men, Kharkov, "Folio", 2007, p. 137-138.

In 1866 Alfred Nobel received a new explosive, to which he gave the name "dynamite" (he probably relied on the results of the Russian chemist Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin). To protect his interests, he patented his rights to the invention in the developed countries of the world. In 1875, Alfred Nobel invented gunpowder for artillery and rockets "ballistite" (its combustion gave a lot of gases, but did not turn into a detonation).

It is characteristic that Alfred Nobel had only one assistant in the laboratory for 18 years, and always conducted all correspondence on his own.

“Having correctly determined the promising direction of development, Alfred Nobel continued to build more and more new factories for the production of dynamite. By the beginning of the 1890s. he already owned 93 such factories in Europe, Asia, Australia, America, Africa.

Sokolsky Yu.M., History in stories. Heroes and Fates, St. Petersburg, Norint, 2003, p. 185-186.

In 1878, Alfred Nobel invents a method for the continuous transportation of oil - an oil pipeline.

12 years before Nobel Prize established by testament Alfred Nobel, there was another Nobel Prize in memory of his brother - Ludwig Nobel. The prize was awarded to Russian engineers. This award lasted until 1905.

Zelenin K.N., Nozdrachev A.D. and Polyakov E.L., Three generations of Nobels in Russia. To the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Nobel Prize, Vestnik RAS, 2001, Volume 71, N 12, p. 1098.

"On the morning of December 10, 1896 Alfred Nobel died, and died exactly the way he most feared.
All alone.

The great Swede left this world, and, as a rule, the story of a person's life ends there.

But this is not the case with Alfred Nobel.

The fact is that he, in the end, still wrote a will, although he did not tell anyone about it.

In the will, he ordered how all the money left after him should be used.
When the will was opened on December 15, it caused a sensation. From Alfred's multi-million dollar fortune, a fund was to be formed, which was appointed to manage Ragnar Sulman.

The annuity was to be spent on bonuses to people who, as Alfred wrote in his will, brought the greatest benefit to mankind. Five prizes were established: in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Literature, as well as a special Peace Prize. Alfred stressed that the awards should be international. […]

Alfred Nobel He was primarily an inventor and industrialist. In a book of this kind it is impossible to describe in all details the numerous chemical experiments and foreign enterprises of Alfred Nobel. They received 355 patents and founded 93 enterprises around the world. Despite all his achievements, Alfred Nobel was not a happy man. He ran his industrial empire from rented apartments and train compartments, all alone, without knowing marital happiness.

Doug Sebastian Alander, Alfred Nobel: from poverty to the Nobel Prize, St. Petersburg, "Humanistika", 2009, p. 105 and 107.

Alfred Nobel is known as the founder of the Nobel Prize. But few people know what Nobel invented and why the prize named after him is considered such a prestigious and important award in the scientific world.

Nobel's main invention

Alfred Nobel was a chemist. He was born in 1833 in Stockholm. His father was engaged in the development of military equipment. At that time, it was a fairly demanded business, and the Nobel family was prosperous. However, even cooperation with the Russian army during the Crimean War (1853) did not save the family business from bankruptcy.

Then Alfred devoted himself to the study of explosives. Nobel found that nitroglycerin, when mixed with substances that can absorb it, is more convenient and safer. This convenience allowed the use of a igniter cord and a detonator. Nobel called his invention dynamite and patented it in 1867. Continuing experiments with nitroglycerin, Nobel invented other explosive mixtures: ballistite and cordite (mixture with gunpowder).

peaceful purposes

However, explosives are not the only inventions of the Swedish chemist. In total, the scientist owns 355 patents for such things as apparatus for measuring atmospheric pressure and pressure of liquids and gases, a water meter, a barometer, a refrigerator, and a gas burner. In addition, Nobel developed a bicycle model with rubber tires and improved steam boilers.

Nobel wanted his main invention, dynamite, to be used only for peaceful purposes, such as mining. The scientist bequeathed his fortune to the prize, which is awarded annually to scientists who have made discoveries in the natural sciences, as well as those who have devoted themselves to the struggle for peace.

Alfred Nobel - inventor of dynamite

Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm and became the fourth child in the family of the Swedish entrepreneur and inventor Emmanuel Nobel. Alfred was born very weak and was constantly ill as a child. He developed a very warm relationship with his mother, which remained so until the end of her life: he often visited his mother and maintained a lively correspondence with her.

Having failed in an attempt to organize his business for the production of elastic fabric, his father was forced to look for funds to support his family, and in 1837, leaving his wife and children in Sweden, he first went to Finland, and from there to St. Petersburg, where he actively engaged in the production mines loaded with powder explosives, lathes and machine accessories. When Alfred was 9 years old, in October 1842, the whole family moved to his father in Russia. The financial capabilities of the Nobels, which increased thanks to the father, made it possible to hire a private tutor for the boy. Alfred showed himself to be a hardworking, capable and thirsty student, he was especially fond of chemistry and physics.

In 1850, seventeen-year-old Alfred set out on a long journey through Europe, during which he visited Germany, France, and then the United States of America. In Paris, he continued to study chemistry, and in the USA he met John Eriksson, the famous Swedish inventor of the steam engine, with whom the young Nobel had an indelible impression.

Soon after returning from a trip abroad to St. Petersburg, Alfred began working in his father's booming company, which specialized in the production of ammunition for the Crimean War (1853-1856), and at the end of the war was re-profiled into the production of machinery and parts for steamships under construction. Nevertheless, orders for peacetime products could not fill the gap in the orders of the military department, and by 1858 the company began to experience a financial crisis. Alfred and his parents returned to Stockholm, while the older brothers Robert and Ludwig remained in Russia in order to liquidate the business and save at least part of the invested funds. In Sweden, Alfred devoted all his time to mechanical and chemical experiments, obtaining three patents for inventions, which supported his subsequent interest in experiments in a small laboratory equipped by his father on a family estate near the capital.

At that time, the only explosive for mines was black powder. But it was also known that nitroglycerin in solid form is an extremely powerful explosive, the use of which, due to its volatility, is associated with exceptional risks. No one has been able to determine how to control its detonation. Having done several short experiments with nitroglycerin, his father sent Alfred to Paris to look for a source of research funding (1861), and he successfully completed the task, receiving a loan in the amount of 100 thousand francs. But, despite the persuasion of Nobel Sr., Alfred refused to participate in this project. In 1863, he managed to personally invent a practical detonator, involving the use of gunpowder to explode nitroglycerin. It was this invention that brought him not only fame, but also prosperity and well-being.

To enhance the effectiveness of this device, Nobel repeatedly changed individual details of the design, and as a final improvement in 1865, he replaced the wooden case, which contained the charge of gunpowder, with a metal capsule filled with detonating mercury. The invention of this so-called exploding capsule introduced the principle of initial ignition into the explosion technology, which became a fundamental phenomenon for all subsequent work in this direction.

However, in the process of improving the invention, the laboratory of Emmanuel Nobel suffered from a severe explosion. He claimed eight human lives, including the 21-year-old son of Emmanuel - Emil. Soon after the tragedy, his father was paralyzed, and he spent the remaining eight years until his death in 1872 in a motionless state.

In the face of public hostility towards the production and use of nitroglycerin, in October 1864 Nobel persuaded the board of the Swedish State Railways to accept an explosive he had developed for tunneling. For its production, he secured financial support from Swedish merchants: the Nitroglycerin LTD company was established and a plant was opened. In the early years of the company's existence, Nobel was simultaneously its managing director, technologist, head of the advertising bureau, head of the office and treasurer, and also arranged frequent field demonstrations of his products. Among the buyers of the innovation, in particular, was the Central Pacific Railroad (in the American West), which used it to lay a railroad track through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Having received a patent for an invention in other countries, Nobel founded the first of his foreign companies, Alfred Nobel & Co., in 1865 in Hamburg.

But despite the fact that Nobel managed to solve the main problems of production safety, due to the negligence of buyers in the handling of explosives, accidental explosions with loss of life sometimes occurred, which led to some bans on the import of dangerous products. However, Nobel continued to expand his business. In 1866 he received a US patent and spent three months there demonstrating his "exploding oil" and raising funds for the Hamburg enterprise. Nobel decides to found an American company - the future Atlantic Giant Roader Co. (after Nobel's death, it was acquired by DuPont de Nemours & Co.).

Given that his explosives were so often culpable in accidents (although they were an effective blasting material when used correctly), Nobel was constantly looking for ways to stabilize nitroglycerin. Suddenly he was struck by the idea of ​​mixing liquid nitroglycerin with a chemically inert porous substance. Nobel's first practical steps in the chosen direction was the use of kieselguhr (as geologists call the porous sedimentary rock, consisting of the silicon skeletons of algae - diatoms) as an absorbent material. He called this mixture dynamite (from the Greek word "dynamis" - "strength"). Mixed with nitroglycerin, these materials could be shaped into sticks and inserted into drilled holes. Thus, in 1868, a new explosive material was patented, which became known as "dynamite, or Nobel's safe explosive powder."

This "safe" explosive powder has enabled exciting projects such as the construction of the Alpine Tunnel on the St. Gotthard Railway, the removal of underwater rocks located in the East River (New York) at Hell Gate, the clearing of the Danube at the Iron Gates, or laying the Corinth Canal in Greece. With the help of dynamite, drilling was also carried out at the Baku oilfields (moreover, the last enterprise is famous for the fact that the two Nobel brothers, known for their activity and efficiency, became so rich that they were referred to only as "Russian Rockefellers").

In life, Nobel was a completely unpretentious person. He didn't trust his thoughts to anyone. Even in the circle of friends, he was only an attentive listener, with everyone equally polite and delicate. The dinners he arranged, at least at home, at least in one of the fashionable districts of Paris, were lively, festive and at the same time elegant: he was a hospitable host and an interesting conversationalist, able to provoke any guest to an entertaining dialogue. In certain circumstances, Nobel could even use his honed to the point of caustic wit. His phrase is known: "All the French are happy in the belief that mental abilities are exclusively French property."

Nobel was a slender man of average height, with dark hair, dark blue eyes and a beard. According to the fashion of the time, he wore pince-nez on a black cord.

He did not have good health, sometimes he was capricious, retired, and was in a depressed mood. After hard work, it was often difficult for him to relax. Nobel often traveled, visited various resorts with mineral springs, which was a popular and fashionable way of healing at that time.

Despite poor health, the inventor was able to go headlong into exhausting work. With a great research mind, he loved to work in his laboratory. Nobel managed his industrial empire scattered all over the world with the help of a whole "team" of directors of numerous companies in which he had a 20-30 percent share of the capital. As a responsible and scrupulous person, he always personally reviewed the details of major decision-making by companies using his name in their name.

About this ten-year cycle of Nobel's life, one can say that he was "restless and exhausting on all nerves." After moving from Hamburg to Paris in 1873, Nobel could sometimes retire to a private laboratory that occupied part of his house, where he attracted Georges D. Fehrenbach, a young French chemist who worked with him for 18 years, to assist in scientific work.

At the beginning of 1876, about to hire a housekeeper and part-time private secretary, Nobel advertised in one of the Austrian newspapers: “A wealthy and highly educated elderly gentleman living in Paris expresses a desire to hire a person of mature age with language training to work as a secretary and housekeepers. Among those who responded to the ad was 33-year-old Berta Kinski, who was working as a governess in Vienna at the time. She came to Paris for an interview and made a big impression on Nobel with her appearance and speed of translation. However, just a week later, homesickness called her back to Vienna, where she married the son of her former mistress, Baron Arthur von Sutner. However, Alfred and Bertha were destined to meet again, and for the last 10 years of his life they corresponded, discussing, in particular, projects to strengthen peace on Earth. By the way, Bertha von Sutner became one of the leading ideals in the struggle for peace on the European continent (which was also facilitated by the financial support of the movement by Nobel), and was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905.

Although Alfred Nobel held patent rights to dynamite and other materials, he was constantly haunted by competitors who stole his technological secrets. He refused to hire a secretary or a full-time legal adviser, so he had to spend a lot of time himself in litigation for infringement of his patent rights.

In the 1870s and 1880s, Nobel expanded his network of enterprises in the main European countries, establishing a worldwide chain of enterprises within national corporations. For the purpose of producing and trading in explosives, he added a new explosive to the improved dynamite. The military use of these substances began with the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871, but throughout his life, the study of explosive materials for military purposes was a loss-making enterprise for Nobel, and he benefited precisely from the use of dynamite in the construction of tunnels, canals, iron and highways.

But his companies demanded priority attention, as new factories had to be built to meet the ever-increasing demand for explosives (in 1896, the year of Nobel's death, 93 enterprises remained, producing about 66,500 thousand tons of explosives, including all its varieties, such as projectile warheads and smokeless powder (ballistite), patented by Nobel between 1887 and 1891. The new explosive could replace black powder and was relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

When organizing a market for smokeless powder, Nobel sold his patent to the Italian government, which led to a conflict with the French government, which accused him of stealing an explosive and deprived him of a monopoly on it. A search was made in the Nobel laboratory, and it was closed, the enterprise was also forbidden to produce ballistite. After that, in 1891, Nobel left France and established his new residence in San Remo, located on the Italian Riviera, where he tried to recover from the last two tragic events in his personal life: in 1888, his elder brother Ludwig died, and in the next year he lost his mother.

In San Remo, in his villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by orange trees, Nobel built a small chemical laboratory, where, among other things, he experimented in the field of synthetic rubber and rayon. Nobel loved San Remo, but he also kept warm memories of his native land. In 1894, having bought an ironworks in Värmland, he built an estate and acquired a new laboratory.

For the last five years of his life, Nobel worked with a personal assistant, as well as a secretary and laboratory assistant, Ragnar Solman, a young Swedish chemist who was distinguished by extreme patience and tact. The young man managed to please Nobel and win his trust so much that he called him nothing more than "the main executor of my desires." “It was not always easy to serve as his assistant,” Solman recalled. He was exacting in his requests, outspoken and always seemed impatient. Everyone who dealt with him should shake himself up properly in order to keep up with the leaps of his thoughts and be ready for his most amazing whims, when he suddenly appeared and just as quickly disappeared.

Nobel often showed extraordinary generosity towards his employees. When his assistant Solman was about to get married, Nobel immediately doubled his salary, and when his French cook got married, he gave her a huge amount at that time - 40 thousand francs. However, his philanthropy often did not depend on personal and professional connections. So, not being a zealous parishioner, he often donated money to the activities of the Paris branch of the Swedish Church in France (its pastor in the early 90s of the last century was Nathan Söderblum, who later became the archbishop of the Lutheran Church in Sweden and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930) .

In 1896, at a consultation with specialists in Paris, Nobel was warned about the development of angina pectoris, associated with insufficient oxygen supply to the heart muscle. He was advised to go on vacation, and the inventor again moved to San Remo. On December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Except for the Italian servants, who did not understand him, at that moment there was no one close to him.

Nobel's contemporaries believed that he did not correspond to the image of a successful capitalist of the era of the rapid development of industry in the 2nd half of the 19th century, as he gravitated towards solitude, peace, and did not like the bustle of the city. Against the background of many chic bigwigs, Nobel most likely looked like an ascetic, since he never smoked, did not drink alcohol, and avoided cards and other gambling. He could be called a European cosmopolitan, fluent in French, German, Russian and English. Since childhood, fond of reading serious outstanding books, Nobel created the largest library where one could get acquainted with the works of such authors as the English philosopher, a supporter of the introduction of the Darwinian theory of evolution into the laws of human development Herbert Spencer and others.

Among his younger companions, he was known as an ardent supporter of liberal public views. Some of his contemporaries believed that he was a socialist, although in reality this was not at all the case. He was a conservative in economics and politics, opposed women's suffrage, and expressed serious doubts about the usefulness of democracy. Few, however, believed so sincerely in the political wisdom of the masses and so deeply despised despotism. Employing hundreds of workers, Nobel literally took care of their health and well-being in a paternal way, without, nevertheless, entering into personal contact with anyone. His innate insight and acute powers of observation led him to the conclusion that a labor force of higher moral character is more productive than a mere brutely exploited mass.

Nobel's name bears the most prestigious prize in the world (about $ 1 million), approved four years after the writing of his will, according to which all his capital was to be transferred to the fund for the annual award of "... cash prizes to those persons who during the previous year managed to bring the greatest benefit to mankind. The prize fund shall be divided into five equal parts, awarded as follows: one part to the person who makes the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; the second part to the person who achieves the most important improvement or discovery in the field of chemistry; the third part - to the person who will make the most important discovery in the field of physiology or medicine; the fourth part - to the person who in the field of literature will create an outstanding work of an idealistic orientation; and, finally, the fifth part - to the person who will make the greatest contribution to strengthening the commonwealth of nations, to eliminating or reducing the tension of confrontation between the armed forces, as well as to organizing or facilitating the holding of congresses of peace forces.

Nobel was often called the "king of dynamite", but he always spoke out against the use of his discoveries for military purposes. “For my part,” he said in the last years of his life, “I wish that all guns with all their accessories and servants could be sent to hell, that is, to the most proper place for them, so that they can be displayed, not to use." He also declared that war is “the horror of horrors and the most terrible crime,” and admitted: “I would like to invent a substance or machine with such destructive power that any war would become impossible at all.”

Meaning:

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, gelignite, and then ballistite (smokeless powder). The products of his factories quickly conquered the international market and brought huge profits.

In total, Nobel owns more than 300 patents (among them are patents for a water meter, a barometer, a refrigerator, a gas burner, an improved method for producing sulfuric acid, and much more).

The inventor was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, the Parisian Society of Civil Engineers, and had many awards.

His name is inextricably linked with the Nobel Prize, which is awarded annually to a person or organization that has made a significant contribution to human rights, arms control and conflict prevention around the world, or made outstanding discoveries. Anyone can become a laureate of the award, regardless of nationality.

He worked on the invention of artificial leather and silk.

The synthesized chemical element nobelium is named after him, as well as the Nobel Institute of Physics and Chemistry in Stockholm.

What they said about him:

“A man of difficult fate, deprived of the joys of reciprocal love and family life, Alfred Nobel devoted his life to tireless work. In the 19th century he was one of the richest industrialists in Europe. And he disposed of his colossal inheritance in such a way that today his money works for the development of science, the economy and peacekeeping. Alfred Nobel is the founder of the most prestigious, most authoritative Nobel Prize."(Nikolai Nadezhdin).

“Alfred Nobel, a Swedish experimental chemist and businessman, inventor of dynamite and other explosives, who wished to establish a charitable foundation to award a prize in his name, which brought him posthumous fame, was distinguished by incredible inconsistency and paradoxical behavior ... Nobel gravitated towards solitude, peace, could not endure urban bustle, although most of his life he happened to live in urban conditions, and he also traveled quite often "(Alden Whitman).

“Nobel's interests were extremely diverse. He studied electrochemistry and optics, biology and medicine, designed automatic brakes and safe steam boilers, tried to make artificial rubber and leather, studied nitrocellulose and rayon, and worked on obtaining light alloys. Undoubtedly, he was one of the most educated people of his time.(V.P. Lishevsky).

What did he say:

“I consider life to be an extraordinary gift, a precious stone that we have received from the hands of mother nature so that we ourselves grind and polish it until its brilliance rewards us for our labors.”

"There are two things that I never borrow or borrow - money and plans."

“A good reputation is more important than a clean shirt. A shirt can be washed, a reputation never.”

“People who care only about getting the maximum benefit hardly deserve respect, and the consciousness of the true motives for their activities can darken the joy of human communication.”

“Any invention and discovery leaves an indelible mark on the minds of people, and this allows us to hope that in the generations that will come to replace us, there will be more of those who are able to change culture, make it better and more perfect.”