Kathy-jo Wargin - Alfred Nobel. The Man Behind the Peace Prize

ALFRED NOBEL THE MAN BEHIND THE PEACE PRIZE KATHY-JO WARGIN and Illustrated by ZACHARY PULLEN ALFRED NOBEL THE MAN BEHIND THE PEACE PRIZE Almost everyone has heard of the Nobel Prize, a collection of prizes awarded for accomplishments in science, medicine, literature, and peace. But very few people know about the man who established the award and for whom it is named, Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel was born in Sweden in 1833. A quick and curious mind, combined with a love of science and chemistry, drove him to invent numerous technological devices throughout his long life. But he is perhaps most well known for his invention of dynamite. Intending it to help safely advance road and bridge construction, Nobel saw his most famous invention used in the development of military weaponry.

After reading a newspaper headline mistakenly announcing his death, Nobel was inspired to leave a legacy of another sort. The Man Behind the Peace Prize tells the story of the enduring legacy of Alfred Nobel. To all children who carry the vision, the dream, and the willpower to make our world smarter, healthier, safer, and a more peaceful place to live for all people. We need you.
Kathy-jo For all the teachers who nurture curiosity.
Zak The hammer dropped with a bang! Upon the anvil was a drop of liquid nitroglycerin. Startled, Alfred Nobel began to think about the power of this liquid. A liquid like this could cause enough force to blast away rock where bridges and roads and railways needed to be built.

It could help militaries have safer weapons. Most often, gunpowder was used for these purposes, but it wasnt very safe. Alfreds love of poetry and literature was equal to his love of science and chemistry. Although he hoped to spend his life as a writer, he soon realized that writing and poetry would have to wait. Alfred began trying different ways to ignite nitroglycerin safely. Alfred kept testing until he came up with a wooden plug he could fill with gunpowder. Alfred kept testing until he came up with a wooden plug he could fill with gunpowder.

He called the plug a blasting cap. It would help builders ignite the nitroglycerin safely. Alfred was pleased. Not long after, Alfred and his brother Emil began to make and sell nitroglycerin in their homeland of Sweden. They called it blasting oil and orders came in from many places. One day in the workshop, Emil and a partner were making some new oil when something went terribly wrong. BOOM! Everything exploded, and five people were dead, including Emil. The tragedy proved one thing to Alfred. The tragedy proved one thing to Alfred.

He must make nitroglycerin even safer yet. As the pain of his loss troubled him, Alfred worked day and night. Some days he would feel weak and ill, while others he felt lonely and sad, wanting nothing more than to escape into books or poetry. Two years after Emil died, Alfred mixed nitroglycerin with sand. This made a paste he could roll into the shape of a rod. He realized such rods could be put into holes so builders could make blasts happen only where they wanted.

The rods would ignite only if they had a blasting cap, making them unlikely to explode on their own. Finally, Alfred Nobel made nitroglycerin safe to use. Alfred named his invention after the Greek word dynamis, which means power. But to the world, Alfred Nobel had invented something called dynamite. This made Alfred wealthy and famous. Alfred was happy with his success. Alfred was happy with his success.

Most of all, he hoped his inventions would prevent war. He thought that if people were afraid of the harm that explosions could cause, perhaps they would settle things peacefully first. But Alfred was wrong. In many countries, people began to use dynamite to solve problems by hurting others. This made Alfred very sad. One morning in France, where Alfred was living, people woke to the newspaper headline, Alfred Nobel is Dead! It reported that Alfred Nobel, the dynamite king, had died of a heart attack.

People everywhere were shocked by the news, but nobody was more shocked than Alfred Nobel. His brother Ludvig had recently died. The newspaper had reported it wrong. As Alfred read his own obituary, he realized that others saw him as a man who earned his wealth by inventing ways to injure and kill. For the rest of his days, this made him very sad. His friends and family gathered to hear the reading of his will. His friends and family gathered to hear the reading of his will.

After money had been given to a few close friends and relative; an announcement was made. The entire estate of Alfred Nobe one of the richest men in all of Europe, would be used to create yearly prizes for those who have rendered the greatest services to humankind.