The Nobel Peace Prize Forum

The Nobel Prize is the first international award given yearly since 1901 for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. The prize is named for Alfred Nobel and consists of a medal, a personal diploma and a prize amount.

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1866 and later built up companies and laboratories in more than 20 countries all over the world. A holder of more than 350 patents, he also wrote poetry and drama.

On Nov. 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament in Paris. Among its four closely-written pages, less than one referred to a donation which was destined to link his name with an award for supreme achievements of the modern world in science and literature, and the causes for peace: the Nobel Prize.

The idea of giving away his fortune was no passing fancy for Nobel. Efforts to promote peace were close to his heart and he derived intellectual pleasure from literature, while science built the foundation for his own activities as a technological researcher and inventor.

Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize are invited to speak at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, a collaborative program that rotates between five Minnesota colleges.