Profile Chemistry 24 October 2018
Science history: The merchant of death who commemorated peace
Alfred Nobel made explosives and armaments. His will revealed a desire to reward human goodness. Jeff Glorfeld reports.
When the contents of Alfred Nobel’s last will and testament were revealed, following his death on December 10, 1896, many were surprised that he had placed most of vast wealth in a trust, which would, he wrote, “constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to mankindâ€.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel, born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden, had amassed a fortune through the development and manufacture of explosives. Perhaps his original intent had been benign, to benefit construction, mining and other worthwhile industries, but it is undeniable that his products were readily adapted for use in engines of war and killing, and that he himself owned factories producing armaments.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/chemistry/science-history-the-merchant-of-death-who-commemorated-peace
