Thank you, Santanu that was very informative. I always thought that the Nobel committee just added that later, and then seeing Alfred Nobel's will and wishes, it looked a bit strange.
--Ram da On 10/20/07, Roy, Santanu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Ram-da: > The so called "Nobel prize in economics" has little to do with the will > and endowment of Alfred Nobel. It was instituted by the Sveriges Riksbank in > 1969 in memory of Nobel and is in fact called the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize > in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel". Its the Bank's money. I > think one of the arguments behind the prize was that having a Swedish prize > (associated with the name Nobel) directed at the social science side of the > spectrum (the literature prize touches the "humanities" side). > Santanu. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Ram Sarangapani > Sent: Sat 10/20/2007 11:50 AM > To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world > Subject: [Assam] Nobel Facts > > For those interested. > > Here are 15 facts about the Nobel? If you scroll down, you will also > notice > the "Will" of Alfred Nobel. > > Does anyone know why the Nobel for Economics was added later on - since > Alfred Nobel did not specifically indicate one for Economics? > > --Ram > ___________________________________________ > > > > http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes > > *.* Robert Lucas, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work > on the theory of "rational expectations," split his $1 million > prize<http://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/nobel/1995/1995f.html > >with > his ex-wife. If there were a Nobel Prize for Foresight or Timing, I'd > nominate her, based on a clause in their divorce settlement from seven > years > earlier: "Wife shall receive 50 percent of any Nobel Prize." But the > clause > expired on October 31, 1995. Had Lucas won any year after, he would have > kept the whole million. > > [image: dynasty.jpg]*2.* Physicist Lise Meitner, whose work helped lead to > the discovery of nuclear fission, was reportedly nominated for the Nobel > Prize 13 times without ever > winning<http://discovermagazine.com/2006/oct/20-things-nobel-prizes>. > This makes her the *Dynasty* of the Nobel Prize scene (the show was > nominated > for 24 Emmy Awards <http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/7940> but > never won). Other analogies we'd accept: *The Color Purple* (11 Oscar > nominations in 1985, no wins) and William Jennings Bryan (three-time > Democratic nominee for President, losing twice to McKinley and once to > Taft.) > > *3.* In 2007, two winners had a combined age of 177. At 90, professor > Leonid > Hurwicz is the oldest person to ever win (one-third of the Prize in > Economics); at 87, writer Doris Lessing is the oldest woman (Literature). > > *Keep reading for duels, sex scandals, overlooked legends and flat-out > refusals*. > > *[image: Mullis2.jpg]4.* DNA expert Kary Mullis - 1993 winner of the Nobel > Prize in Chemistry - was scheduled to be a defense > witness< > http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/11/reviews/981011.11teresit.html?_r=1&oref=slogin > >in > O.J. Simpson's murder trial. However, Simpson lawyer Barry Scheck felt the > prosecution's DNA case was already essentially destroyed, and he didn't > want > Mullis' personal life to distract jurors (read: he'd expressed an affinity > for LSD and surfing.) > > *5.* In the last ten years, the Nobel Prize in Literature has gone for the > first time to authors in Portugal, China, Trinidad & Tobago, Hungary, > Austria and Turkey *[source] <http://review.antioch.edu/bidetail.php?id=56 > >* > . > > *[image: einstein.jpeg]6.* Nobel Laureates you must know: Teddy Roosevelt, > Woodrow Wilson, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, > Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak > Rabin, Jimmy Carter, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner, T.S. Eliot, Ernest > Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, Pierre & Marie Curie, Max Planck and Albert > Einstein (====>). > > *7.* Big names who never won: Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, > Marcel Proust, Mangesh Hattikudur, Mark Twain, Gertrude Stein, Paul > Tagliabue, Henrik Ibsen, Thomas Edison and Mahatma Gandhi. > > *8.* The following people refused the Prize: > > [image: kissinger_tho.jpg]. Le Duc Tho was awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace > Prize with Henry Kissinger for their roles in brokering a Vietnam cease > fire > at the Paris Peace Accords. Citing the absence of actual peace in Vietnam, > Tho declined to accept. > > . Jean Paul Sartre waved off the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature. His > explanation <http://www.sartre.org/biography.htm>: "It is not the same > thing > if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize > winner. A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an > institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form." > > . Afraid of Soviet retribution, Boris Pasternak declined to accept the > 1958 > Prize in Literature, which he'd earned for *Doctor Zhivago*. The > Academy refused > his refusal< > http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1958/press.html>. > "This refusal, of course, in no way alters the validity of the award. > There > remains only for the Academy, however, to announce with regret that the > presentation of the Prize cannot take place." > > . Erik Axel Karlfeldt won for Literature in 1918. He did not accept > because > he was Secretary of the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize. He was > given the award > posthumously< > http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9044732/Erik-Axel-Karlfeldt>in > 1931. > > *9.* As part of his divorce settlement, Einstein's Nobel Prize money went > to > his ex-wife, Mileva Maric. > > *10.* Winners without the greatest reputations: > > . Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, who won in 1976 for his research in human > slow-virus infections, spent 19 months in jail after pleading guilty in > 1997 > to charges of child molestation. > > . Johannes Fibiger won in 1926 after discovering parasitic worms cause > cancer - a breakthrough that turned out to not be true. > > [image: arafat.jpg]. Yasser Arafat shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with > Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. This decision caused Nobel Committee > member Kare > Kristiansen to resign< > http://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/nobel/1994/1994c.html>. > "What consequences will result," he asked at the time, "when a terrorist > with such a background is awarded the world's most prestigious prize?" > > . William Shockley won for Physics in 1956 for his role in the invention > of > the semiconductor. But his support of the > eugenics<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics>movement alienated > the scientific community< > http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19025551.500-the-rise-and-fall-of-william-shockley.html > >. > Shockley also donated sperm to the Repository for Germinal Choice, a sperm > bank developed to spread humanity's best genes > (*Slate*<http://slate.com/id/100331/>did a great series on this in > 2001.) > > *11.* The first Nobel Laureates collected 150,800 Swedish > kronor<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,91819-1,00.html > >(about > $15,420 today). The stakes have been raised. This year's prize was > $1.5 million - shared in the case of multiple winners. > > [image: MarieCurie.jpg]*12.* The Curie family is a Nobel Prize machine, > winning five: Pierre and Marie (==>) for Physics in 1901; Marie solo for > Chemistry in 1911; daughter Irene and her husband Frédéric Joliot-Curie > for > Chemistry in 1935; and Henry Labouisse - Irene's daughter Eve's second > husband - accepted on behalf of UNICEF in 1965. No family has won more. > > *13.* Marie Curie's second prize was marred by scandal. Then a widow, > Curie > had an affair with a married scientist, Paul Langevin - a former pupil of > Pierre Curie. Love letters were involved, eventually leading to a duel > between Langevin and the editor of the newspaper that had printed them (no > shots were actually > fired<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/curie/index.html > >.) > When it was suggested that she not accept the prize, she wrote a shrewd > letter, in which "she pointed out that she had been awarded the Prize for > her discovery of radium and polonium, and that she could not accept the > principle that appreciation of the value of scientific work should be > influenced by slander concerning a researcher's private life." > * > 14.* Alfred Nobel - inventor of dynamite - may have been inspired to > create > the Nobel Prize after a premature obituary in a French newspaper called > him > a "merchant of death."< > http://discovermagazine.com/2006/oct/20-things-nobel-prizes> > > *15.* Nobel died on December 10, 1896. The formal awards ceremony is held > in > Stockholm each year on the anniversary of his death. The first awards show > took place on December 10, 1901. These things take time to plan. > > And in case you were wondering just how much of a say Alfred Nobel had in > the prize, here's his will: > > The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the > following way: > > The capital shall be invested by my executors in safe securities and shall > constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in > the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have > conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be > divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one > part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or > invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall > have > made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the > person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain > of > physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in > the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic > tendency; > and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work > for > fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing > armies > and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses. > > The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish > Academy > of Sciences; that for physiological or medical works by the Caroline > Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm; > and > that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected > by > the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes > no > consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the > candidates, > so that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be > Scandinavian > or not. > > Elsewhere on *mental_floss*: > > . Indigenous Alcoholic > Treats<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8816>from Around the > World > . Quiz: What Presidents Did After Leaving > Office<http://mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=125> > . 11 Pictures <http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8657> Politicians > Wish Were Never Taken > . X-Rays in the News <http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8082> > . "When life gives you Scurvy, make > lemonade"<http://www.mentalfloss.com/store/home.php?cat=103>and other > great t-shirts > . *mental_floss* presents: *Med School In A > Box*< > http://www.mentalfloss.com/store/product.php?productid=16216&cat=252&page=1 > > > Send this Post »<javascript:openWindow(' > http://www.mentalfloss.com/sitetools/tellafriend.php?referrer=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.mentalfloss.com%252Fblogs%252Farchives%252F8803&f=blog','450','530') > > > Suggest > a Topic/Link »<javascript:openWindow(' > http://www.mentalfloss.com/sitetools/suggestalink.php','450','540')> > « Previous Post <http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8815> - > Next > Post » <http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8784> > 22 Responses to "15 Award-Winning Facts About > The Nobel Prize" > > 1. Beth Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 2:40 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29890> > > Fascinating! > 2. ac Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 4:02 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29897> > > Great article! > 3. Heathen Dan <http://tinyurl.com/rotht> Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 5:19 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29900> > > Kary Mullis should also be listed in "10. Winners without the greatest > reputations" for doubting that HIV causes AIDS, for denying > anthropogenic > global warming, and for believing in astrology. Using LSD and surfing > would > be of minor concern to his credibility. > 4. Emily Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 7:38 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29920> > > I like a lot of fonts, but the one that my whole computer is set to > Book Antiqua. > 5. Emily Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 7:39 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29921> > > Sorry about the post above! > 6. Melissa Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 7:41 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29923> > > Great article! However, I thought that the Nobel prizes were not given > posthumously. (re: Erik Axel Karlfeldt) > 7. loop Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 7:56 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29926> > > Lest we forget!. > > Dr. Egas Moniz of Portugal who won the Nobel prize for medicine in > 1949 for his "apple corer" technique for pre-frontal lobotomies. Well, I > guess you can't be right 100% of the time. > 8. marcus Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 8:09 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29927> > > is Mangesh famous for something? > (No. 7 listed him as a famous name that never won). > tee hee. > 9. V Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 8:10 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29928> > > For no. 10, Thomas Edison shouldn't be there at all. Nikola Tesla > should deserve the prize. He did all the work, Edison got all the credit > and > money, and Tesla died penniless. Actually, I think Tesla should've won > the > 1909 prize instead of Marconi. > 10. Stick Says: > October 16th, 2007 at 9:38 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-29933> > > Did Paul Tagliabue do something Nobel Prize worthy that I don't know > about? Number 7 has him listed, but I only know him as NFL commisioner. > What's his story? > 11. Sid Morrison Says: > October 17th, 2007 at 12:13 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-30919> > > -> In 2007, the winners in Economics and Literature had a combined age > of 177. > > So what? I can add up the ages of a 7th grade class and come up with a > big number. Tell us the AVERAGE age if you are trying to make a point > that > they are old. > > Sid > 12. Jason <http://jasonenglish1.com/> Says: > October 17th, 2007 at 12:27 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-30923> > > But it's 2 people. How is 88.5 more impressive? > 13. Jason <http://jasonenglish1.com/> Says: > October 17th, 2007 at 5:00 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-30986> > > In response to Melissa's question about how Erik Axel Karlfeldt won > posthumously, from the Nobel.org FAQ: > > Previously, a person could be awarded a prize posthumously if he/she > had already been nominated (before February 1 of the same year), which > was > true of Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize in Literature 1931) and Dag > Hammarskjöld (Nobel Peace Prize, 1961). Effective from 1974, the prize > may > only go to a deceased person to whom it was already awarded (usually in > October) but who had died before he/she could receive the Prize on > December > 10 (William Vickrey, 1996 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics in Memory > of > Alfred Nobel). > > Also, from the New York Times, October 9, 1931: > > The first posthumous award of a Nobel Prize was made tonight in > literature to Dr. Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet, secretary and > member of > the Swedish Academy, who died in April. Dr. Karlfeldt already had been > proposed once, but he had refused the award. The second nomination was > made > before he died, so that the award is in order - no candidate may be > proposed > after death. > 14. Tom Says: > October 18th, 2007 at 11:47 > am<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31087> > > Agree. Nikola Tesla was a genius! He definitely deserved the Nobel > instead of Marphoni (haha). > 15. J Says: > October 18th, 2007 at 8:23 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31144> > > Kary Mullis is amazing. And Arafat is no more a terrorist than Sharon. > > 16. Chandra Says: > October 18th, 2007 at 8:39 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31148> > > Wasn't Gandhi nominated at least five times? So,why wasn't he given > the award posthumously? > 17. jm Says: > October 18th, 2007 at 10:39 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31158> > > Rosalind Franklin and the discovery of DNA's structure. Watson, Crick, > and Wilkins won but she died before it happened. Arguably she would have > discovered it on her own if she just talked to the other two. She hid > her > pictures, and the report I read said Wilkins stole them from her and > gave > them to Watson and Crick, thus giving them the vital clue they needed to > figure out the structure of DNA. So, technically, Wilkins got the Nobel > Prize for being a thief. > 18. Mal Says: > October 19th, 2007 at 6:57 > am<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31177> > > I just kept help but disclosing that the H in Jesus H. Christ stands > for "Howard." Obviously, this is to honor his dad - God's name is > Howard: > "Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be thy name. . ." > 19. Ms Teal Says: > October 19th, 2007 at 9:37 > am<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31203> > > James Watson should acknowledge Rosalind Franklin's contribution to > understanding the DNA helix to redeem himself from sexism and racism in > one > shot. > 20. Vijay Says: > October 19th, 2007 at 1:12 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31236> > > Gandhiji is symbol of Peace. No prize can alter this status. I will > not be amazed if Noble prize for Peace is renamed as Mahatma Gandhi > prize. > 21. The Ferg Says: > October 19th, 2007 at 4:15 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31251> > > Very interesting! Definitely one to share with students. > 22. Ann Says: > October 19th, 2007 at 5:25 > pm<http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8803?cnn=yes#comment-31259> > > re: Boris Pasternak declined to accept the 1958 Prize in Literature, > which he'd earned for Doctor Zhivago. > > The Soviets did not allow Pasternak to go to Stockholm to collect his > prize. In 1989, his son came to Stockholm during the Nobel festivities > in > December and was given his father's Nobel medal. In his speech, he > regretted > that he was unable also to receive the money that would have been given > to > his father with the medal, had his father been able to go to Stockholm. > It > was a very emotional event. > > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org >
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