Nobel Prizes

Prizes given annually for achievement in physics , chemistry , literature, peace, economics , and medicine and physiology . The prizes were founded by a Swedish munitions maker, Alfred Nobel, and are considered a mark of worldwide leadership in the fields in which they are given. Nobel winners, called Nobel laureates , receive their prizes in ceremonies in Stockholm , Sweden , except for the peace prize, which is presented in Oslo , Norway .

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What are the Nobel Prizes?

The Nobel Prizes are awards given annually for outstanding achievement in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature, and economics, and for the promotion of peace.

They are widely considered one of the most prestigious awards in these fields.

Each specific award is referred to with the name of the field it was awarded in, as in the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Nobel Prize awarded for the promotion of peace is popularly called the Nobel Peace Prize.

Recipients of the prize are known as Nobel laureates (or, less commonly, Nobelists). They receive a medal and a sizable cash prize.

The recipients are chosen by an international committee based in Sweden, with the exception of the peace prize, which is awarded in Oslo by a committee of the Norwegian parliament.

The prizes are named after its founder, Alfred Nobel, who established the prizes in his will to be awarded to “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”

When are the Nobel Prizes announced?

The 2023 Nobel Prize winners will be announced at the beginning of October. The 2023 Nobel Prize presentation ceremony will be held on December 10.

The ceremony is usually always held on this day, which is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

More information and context on the Nobel Prizes

The Nobel Prizes are named after Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, inventor, and entrepreneur. He is best remembered for establishing the Nobel Prize and for inventing dynamite (among many other things).

The Nobel Prizes were established in 1901 but first awarded in 1910. Nobel’s will dictates that the awards be given out in his native Sweden, with the exception of the peace prize, which is awarded in Norway.

The economics prize was not one of the original prizes stipulated by Nobel’s will. It was established 1968 with private funds and is formally called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

Notable winners of the Nobel Prize include Marie Curie (the first Nobel laureate to win twice—for physics in 1903 and for chemistry prize in 1911), Albert Einstein (physics; 1921), Martin Luther King, Jr. (peace; 1964), and Malala Yousafzai (peace; 2014), among many others.

What are some terms that often get used in discussing the Nobel Prizes?

How are the Nobel Prizes discussed in real life?

The Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as one of the most prestigious honors in the world. The Nobel Peace Prize is the best known of the prizes.

Malala Yousafzai's life is a journey of immense grit & courage. I congratulate her on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 10, 2014

Jean Paul Sartre was the first person to decline the Nobel Prize.

In 1964, Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but made it known that he did not wish to accept the prize as he had always declined official honours.

More on Sartre’s refusal: https://t.co/rgEDGrc4Cp pic.twitter.com/dJzNph7yht

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 22, 2020

Six Americans won the Nobel prize this year in various sciences. ALL of them immigrants.

— Atif Mian (@AtifRMian) October 10, 2016

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True or False?

The Nobel Prizes are all presented in Sweden.

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