Remembering Alfred Nobel: All about the 'Merchant of Death'

Alfred Nobel was called the 'Merchant of Death' for his inventions and the most prestigious award is given after his name.

The inventor of dynamite and explosives was criticised for finding ways to kill people faster than ever.

He left his enormous savings to fund a set of prizes, called the Nobel Prizes, allegedly in his last will -- which he signed on November 27 in 1895.

Some facts you should not miss about the Merchant of Death, Alfred Nobel:

1. Nobel was always very interested in explosives and dynamite. Following his studies, he subsequently invented a detonator in 1863, and, in 1865, he designed the blasting cap.

2. In September 1864, a cabin which he was using for the preparation of Nitroglycerin exploded at the factory, killing five people, including Nobel's younger brother Emil.

3. In 1888, Alfred's brother Ludvig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper mistakenly published Alfred's death with the title 'The Merchant of Death is Dead'.

4. Thinking that he had passed away, the newspaper severely condemned him for his invention of dynamite. It also stated that "Dr Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday."

5. Alfred was disappointed with what he read and became much concerned with how he would be remembered.

6. Nevertheless, Nobel carried on his experiments in other factories, and focused on improving the stability of the explosives he was developing.

7. Nobel invented the dynamite in 1867, a substance easier and safer to handle than the more unstable nitroglycerin.

8. In order to improve his image of a 'Merchant of Death,' Nobel considered naming the highly powerful substance 'Nobel's Safety Powder', but settled with 'Dynamite' instead -- which meant 'power' in Greek.

9. Nobel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1884, the same institution that later selected laureates for the Nobel prizes.

10. On December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel succumbed to a lingering heart ailment.

11. To clear his name, he left most of his wealth in a trust, in order to fund the awards that came to be known as the Nobel Prizes.

12. The Nobel Prizes were created as awards for people who made the greatest contributions to mankind in subjects that interested Alfred Nobel, namely Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Peace.

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