who was alfred nobel

Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden. He is best known for inventing dynamite and holding 355 patents, including inventions like gelignite and ballistite. Nobel was also a successful industrialist who owned the company Bofors, which became a major manufacturer of cannons and armaments. Despite his contributions to powerful explosives, he is most famously remembered for bequeathing his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, which annually honor individuals who have made significant contributions to humanity in fields such as physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. Nobel's life was marked by both scientific innovation and a complex personality; he was known to be a reclusive and ascetic man with interests in literature and humanitarian causes. He died on December 10, 1896, in San Remo, Italy. His legacy lives on through the Nobel Prizes and companies that trace their origins to his enterprises. The chemical element nobelium was also named in his honor.