In the world of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Peace-making, Literature and Economics there exist a few coveted prizes which are bestowed upon the crème de la crème of these fields and inspire scores more.

Among these honors none is thought to be greater than the Nobel itself.

The Nobel Prize was instituted quite literally by the “will” of a Swede named Alfred Nobel. The man, who would lay the foundations of this great human tradition, was himself not only a man of science and letters, but also a great businessman.

Ironically, Alfred Nobel was the inventor of Dynamite and his family was also in the arms and ammunition business. So how was it that such a man would leave his wealth to reward those who “shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind”.

In 1876, Bertha von Suttner an Austrian lady worked as a secretary for Nobel for only a week in Paris and became a good friend. She continued communication with him till his death. Suttner was a pacifist and authored the novel “Lay down your arms”. I

It is thought that it was her influence that gently nudged Nobel towards the idea for honouring service of mankind.

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The writer can be reached at vagabonds.odyssey@gmail.com