1833-1896

Swedish chemist who invented dynamite and established the Nobel Prize trust. After studying mechanical engineering in Russia and the United States, Nobel was employed at his family's factory in St. Petersburg, where he manufactured military devices. Nobel turned his attention to the development of safe packaging for dangerous chemicals (his brother was killed in an 1864 explosion), and in 1867 successfully cushioned nitroglycerin in organic material to produce dynamite. He also developed ballistite, a smokeless gunpowder. Nobel amassed considerable wealth as a manufacturer of explosives and, upon his death, bequeathed his fortune to the prestigious award foundation that bears his name.