Grundtvig - The Nobel Prizes - Maite - Sandra

›	Alfred Nobel patented about 300 inventions.

›	Nitroglycerin was first invented by Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero in 1846. In its natural liquid state, nitroglycerin is very volatile. Albert Nobel understood this and in 1866 he discovered that mixing nitroglycerine with silica would turn the liquid into a malleable paste, called dynamite

›	Many People wonder why there isn't a Prize in Mathematics. There are two possible answers: Hate and Respect. The former because Alfred fell in love with a woman who was married to a famous mathematician so Alfred hated the Mathematics forever. The latter because in those days there was already another prize awarded by the King and he didn't want to offend him

›	The Prizes are awarded both in Sweden and Norway. Why? Because at Alfred's time both countries were only one and Alfred Nobel's will said the Peace Prize must be awarded by the Norwegian Parliament. Nowadays, although the ceremonies take place in different countries, the Prizes are awarded on 10 th December, the anniversary of Nobel's death.

›	Two Nobel Laureates have declined the Nobel 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 witht tpgether 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 Prize,due to the situation in Vietnam as his reason.

›	Four Nobel Laureates have been forced by authorities to decline the Nobel Prize! Adolf Hitler forbade three German Nobel Laureates, Richard Kuhn , Adolf Butenandt and Gerhard Domagk , to accept the Nobel Prize. All of them could receive later the Nobel Prize Diploma and Medal, but not the prize amount. Boris Pasternak , the 1958 Nobel Laureate in Literature, initially accepted the Prize but was later coerced by the authorities of the Soviet Union, his native country, to decline the Prize.

›	33 Nobel Laureates have been women, and the remaining 735 have been men.

›	Also,the Statute of the Nobel Foundation stipulates that a prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. This happened in 1996 when William Vickrey died only a few days after the announcement of the Prize in Economics

›	A Prize worth 10 million Swedish kronor, about a million EUR

›	Spanish Nobel Prize winners: Seven Spaniards were awarded a Nobel Prize, five of them in Literature and the rest in Medicine. their names are: José Echegaray (1904), Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1906),Jacinto Benavente (1922), Juan Ramón Jiménez (1956), Severo Ochoa (1959), Vicente Aleixandre (1977) and, finally, Camilo José Cela (1989).

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