Alfred Bernard Nobel
Alfred Bernard Nobel

Born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden, Alfred Nobel worked at his father’s arms factory as a young man. Intellectually curious, he went on to experiment with chemistry and explosives. In 1864, a deadly explosion killed his younger brother. Deeply affected, Nobel developed a safer explosive: dynamite. Nobel used his vast fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, which has come to be known for awarding the greatest achievements throughout the world. He died of a stroke in 1896.