Susan Stewart, age 10, of Peterborough, Ontario her‑question
What are the Nobel Prizes?
The Nobel Prizes are awarded to a few chosen men and women who have done outstanding work for the good of humanity The prize money varies from year to year and may be shared by two or more persons, The honor which goes with the awards does not vary It is the greatest tribute which a group of thoughtful persons can pay to those whose work has added to the betterment of us all
The strange story behind the prizes began with Alfred Nobel, who became very rich by inventing dynamite and manufacturing high explosives and armaments. Later in life, with more leisure to think, Nobel saw how his dynamite could be used to destroy human lives and wanted to prevent its use as a weapon of warfare He wrote a will leaving his fortune of some $9,000,000.00, to encourage people who do outstanding work for peace and human betterment
The prizes are awarded in five different fields and the prize money comes from the interest earned from the investment of Nobel's fortune No one can apply for a prize for himself, no matter how worthy he thinks he is, His name must be submitted by others and his work fudged by a very serious and painstaking committee Awards can be made for work done in physics and in chemistry, in physiology or medicine, and in literature The fifth award, the Peace Prize, is awarded for outstanding work in world peace
The awards in physics and chemistry are decided by the Royal Academy of Science The award in physiology or medicine is decided by the Caroline Institute and the award in literature by the Swedish Academy of Literature These are three institutes of learning in Stockholm, the town where Alfred Nobel was born in the year 1833
The Peace Prize is decided by a committee of five persons selected bythe Parliament of Norway,
The prizes are awarded on or near December l0. The three awards in science and the award in literature are made in Stockholm, the Peace Prize is usually made in Oslo, capital of Norway
Nobel Prizes have bean awarded to people of nearly 30 different nations and several organizations such as the International Red Cross The winner of a Nobel award brings honor to himself and to his country The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to two U S presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, for their contributions to harmony and understanding between nations Many outstanding Americans have also received Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature
The prize money is divided equally among the five fields Sometimes a committee fails to find a contribution to humanity good enough to meet their high standards Then no prize is awarded in that area Sometimes the awards are made to several persons in the same area and the prize money shared among them No prizes were given during the war years of 1940 1941 and 1942.