35 facts about Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla lived at the turn of the 20th century. He was an inventor, designer, and visionary to whom the world owes many technologies that are indi ...
Alfred Nobel, who lived in the 19th century, is best known for donating his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize, although he also made great contributions to science, filing 355 patents during his lifetime. His most famous invention is dynamite, a deadly agent one might say, but for him the most important thing was the welfare of humanity, not annihilation, he was an advocate of peace.
He was not only a scientist, but also a man interested in literature, who wrote poetry. Nobel's four-act tragedy still stirs emotions today. He was curious about the world, spoke and wrote in many languages, and traveled all over the world.
You could say he was a fulfilled man, but he failed to start a family and died childless, alone.
He was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. His most famous achievement was the invention of dynamite, and he established the Nobel Prize for those who have "brought the greatest benefit to mankind".
He was the third son of Immanuel Nobel, an inventor and engineer and a graduate of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and Karolina Andriette Nobel, née Ahlsell. The couple had eight children, but only four sons (Alfred, Robert, Ludvig and Emil) reached adulthood.
The first member of the family was Petrus Olai Nobelius, who married Wendela Rudbeck, daughter of the renowned Swedish scientist Olof Rudbeck, also known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder.
Members of the Nobel family are known for their inventiveness, sometimes described as a Rudbeck trait inherited from their ancestor Olof Rudbeck the Elder, and for their interest in the arts.
Immanuel Nobel left for St. Petersburg in search of a better life. The family remained in Sweden. To support herself and the children, the mother took a job as a helper in a grocery store. Alfred, wanting to help his mother, sold matches on the street.
The father became a successful businessman in Russia, manufacturing machine tools and explosives. He invented a veneer lathe and began work on the torpedo. The family joined him in 1842.
