The Nobel Museum

"Why was Gandhi never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?" asked one of my colleagues.

Honestly, I had never thought of it. But it certainly put our tour guide under pressure. He believes that it might be one of the few decisions that the Nobel Peace Prize committee might have regretted. His assumption is based on the fact that no Peace Prize was awarded in the year 1948, the year Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Probably in honour of him and for the fact that it is not awarded posthumously in general.

The Nobel Museum is located in the Old Town of Stockholm called Gamla Stan. It is an impressive building and the top floor houses the committee's offices.

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prizes are given out for outstanding achievements in Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

The first of these prizes were given out in 1901. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award. As per the stipulation of the will, the Peace Prize is given decided and given away in Norway whilst the other prizes are given away in Sweden.

The Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, according to the same principles as the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901. The first of which was given in the year 1969. It is interesting to note that this prize was not part of Alfred Nobel's will but was instituted by The Sveriges Riksbank.  

We visited the City Hall in Stockholm where the dinner commemorating the Nobel Laureates is held.

Some interesting facts:

• The Nobel Prize cannot be shared by more than 3 people in any discipline.
• It can be received by individuals or institutions.
• The Curies were a very successful 'Nobel Prize family'. Marie Curie herself was awarded two Nobel Prizes.
• From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize has only been awarded posthumously twice: to Dag Hammarskjöld (Nobel Peace Prize 1961) and Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize in Literature 1931).
• 3 Nobel Laureates have been under arrest when they were awarded the prize.
• German pacifist and journalist Carl von Ossietzky
• Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi
• Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo
• 2 Nobel Laureates declined the prize.
• Jean-Paul Sartre, awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.
• Le Duc Tho, awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They were awarded the Prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace accord. Le Doc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason.
• Leonid Hurwicz, was the oldest Laureate till date, who at the age of 90 years received the 2007 Prize in Economic Sciences.
• The youngest Nobel Laureate is Lawrence Bragg, who was just 25 years old when he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his father in 1915.
• The Peace Prize has not been awarded in the following years 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1967, 1972 mainly due to war.
• 830 Laureates and 23 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2011.
• Minutes just before the announcement, the Nobel Prize awarding institution calls the Nobel Laureates to inform them that they have been awarded the Nobel Prize. These calls can come at unexpected times and reach Nobel Laureates in unexpected places.
• Richard Ernst was on a flight from Moscow when he was informed by the captain that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• Amartya Sen heard the phone ringing at 5 a.m. and thought something tragic had happened.
• James A. Mirrlees asked politely for some proof when he received the call.
• Alfred Nobel, was a bachelor, extremely rich, lived all over the world, owned companies in several countries, was the creator of dynamite and died in San Remo, Italy.