Plays from youtube-nocookie.com once you press play.
Alfred Nobel Some Called Him the Merchant of Death
In 1888, Alfred Nobel opened a French newspaper and, as the story goes, read his own obituary: "The merchant of death is dead." He wasn't dead. His brother Ludvig was.
Nobel grew up between bankruptcy and riches, learned chemistry and five languages from private tutors, and set out to tame nitroglycerin. In 1864 an explosion at the family workshop in Stockholm killed five people, including his younger brother Emil. Three years later he invented dynamite, which blasted tunnels through the Alps and made him one of the richest men in Europe, and was also used in war.
In 1895 he signed his last will in Paris: almost his entire fortune would fund prizes for those who brought the greatest benefit to mankind. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. His friend Bertha von Suttner won the peace prize in 1905.
The facts behind this file
What the record shows
- Nobel spoke six languages.
- On 3 September 1864 an explosion at the family's Heleneborg works in Stockholm killed five people, including his younger brother Emil.
- He invented dynamite in 1866 and patented it in 1867.
- On 27 November 1895, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, he signed a will leaving about 94% of his fortune to the prizes. They have been awarded since 1901.
- His friend Bertha von Suttner won the Peace Prize in 1905.
Legends, disputes & careful wording
- The famous obituary headline 'The merchant of death is dead', supposedly printed by mistake when his brother died, has never been found. That is why the episode tells it as a story.
Main sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Alfred Nobel
- Kenne Fant, Alfred Nobel: A Biography
- Smithsonian Magazine (2013), on the obituary story
Spotted a mistake or know a better source? Tell us.
Image & film credits
- Alfred Nobel's will, 1895 (pages 1 and 4): Waage, CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Other archival photos are public domain (incl. Library of Congress, Swedish archives); video clips from Pexels.
- Music and sound made for this video.
