Unit 90 The Nobel Prize

W: One of the greatest achievements in the world is to win the Nobel Prize.

It has been given to people since 1901. There are prizes for physics, chemistry, and medicine. There are also prizes for literature, economics, and peace. The Nobel Prize is named after Alfred Nobel. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1833. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1866. Dynamite is used in mining, construction, and war. Before he died, he wrote that all of his money should be used to create the Nobel Prize. He died in 1896. The first prize was given in 1901. Each prize has three parts: a diploma, a gold medal, and money. The money has increased since 1980. It is now ten million Swedish crowns. This is about one million euros. How are the winners chosen? Five committees secretly meet to pick the winners. The Nobel Prize for Economics is the only one that is not decided that way. That is because it was created in 1956 by the Bank of Sweden in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The Bank of Sweden decides who gets the Nobel Prize for Economics. Since 1901, over 750 people have won the Nobel Prize.