Owner of more than 350 patented inventions during his lifetime, Nobel is best known as the discoverer of dynamite and the man who upon his death bequeathed much of his large estate to support the annual Nobel Prizes for accomplishments in physics, chemistry, economics, science and medicine, literature, and the promotion of peace.

Born in Stockholm, Nobel received his education from private tutors and from various apprenticeships. Like his father, a manufacturer of mines and other explosives, Nobel displayed an avid interest in engineering and chemistry and as a young man worked for a time in the laboratory of French chemist Théophile Jules Pelouze (1807-1867), who is regarded by some as the inventor of guncotton (most accord the honor to Christian Schönbein). After extensive travels, through which he acquired the sharp skills of a businessman and the distinct advantages of a multilinguist, Nobel returned to...