Nobel Prize is a prestigious prize awarded separately in six different fields “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.
Originally, the prize was awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
Later in 1968, a sixth prize was added in the field of economic sciences.
In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Sir Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize.
Background: Nobel Prize
Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist most famously known for the invention of dynamite.
In his will, he bequeathed all of his “remaining realisable assets” to be used to establish five prizes which became known as “Nobel Prizes.
Nobel Prizes were first awarded in 1901.
Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously. However, if a person is awarded a prize and dies before receiving it, the prize is presented.
Who selects the Nobel Laureates?
In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established:
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry,
Karolinska Institutet for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine,
Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and
A committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Parliament for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was given the task to select the Laureates in Economic Sciences starting in 1969.
Award Ceremony
Except for the Peace Prize, the Nobel Prizes are presented in Stockholm, Sweden, at the annual Prize Award Ceremony on 10 December (the anniversary of Nobel’s death).
The Peace Prize is presented at the annual Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, usually on 10 December.
