The Nobel Prizes recognize outstanding contributions to humanity in six categories. These were established based on Alfred Nobel's will, with the sixth added later.
Core Categories
Alfred Nobel specified five original prizes in his 1895 will: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. The first awards occurred in 1901.
Added Category
In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank created the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, often called the Nobel Prize in Economics. This brings the total to six categories awarded annually.
