On this day in 1901 – The first Nobel Prizes are awarded

The highly successful chemist, engineer and inventor, Alfred Nobel, was unpleasantly surprised to read his own obituary in a French newspaper, titled ‘The merchant of death is dead’. Concerned with how he would be remembered his last will requested that his large fortune be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature.