Key facts about the Nobel Prize. Curiosities and records of the Nobel Prizes The Nobel Prize is not a woman’s business
Repeated winners
Among the award rules Nobel Prizes There is a condition that all prizes, except the Peace Prize, can be awarded to one person only once. Nevertheless, four Nobel laureates are known who received the prize twice: Marie Sklodowska-Curie (pictured; in physics - in 1903, in chemistry - in 1911), Linus Pauling (in chemistry - in 1954, peace prize - in 1962), John Bardeen (in physics - in 1956 and 1972) and Frederick Sanger (in chemistry - in 1958 and 1980). There has only been one three-time Nobel Prize winner - International Committee Red Cross, who received the Peace Prize (this prize is the only one that allows the nomination of not only individuals, but also organizations) in 1917, 1944 and 1963.
Laureates posthumously
In 1974, the Nobel Foundation introduced a rule that the Nobel Prize should not be awarded posthumously. Before this, there were only two cases of posthumous award of the prize: in 1931 - to Erik Karlfeldt (for literature), and in 1961 - to Dag Hammarskjöld (peace prize). After the rule was introduced, it was violated only once, and then due to a tragic coincidence. In 2011, the Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Ralph Steinman (pictured), but he died of cancer a few hours before the decision of the Nobel Committee was announced.
Nobel economy
IN this year The size of the monetary part of the Nobel Prize is $1.1 million. The amount was reduced by 20% in June 2012 in order to save money. As the Nobel Foundation argued for this step, the innovation will help avoid reducing the organization’s capital in the long term, because capital management should be carried out in such a way that “the prize can be awarded indefinitely.”
Nobel cache
In the entire history of the Nobel Prize, there has only been one recorded case where laureates received the same Nobel medals twice for the same discovery. German physicists Max von Laue (1915 laureate) and James Frank (1925 laureate), after the ban on receiving Nobel Prizes introduced in 1936 in Nazi Germany, handed over their medals for preservation to Niels Bohr, who headed the institute in Copenhagen. In 1940, when the Reich occupied Denmark, an employee of the institute, the Hungarian Gyorgy de Hevesy (pictured), fearing that the medals might be confiscated, dissolved them in “regia vodka” (a mixture of concentrated nitrogen and hydrochloric acid), and after his release he isolated gold from the stored solution of chlorauric acid and transferred it to the Royal Swedish Academy. There, Nobel medals were again made from it, which were returned to the laureates. By the way, Gyorgy de Hevesy himself was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944.
Nobel centenarian
Italian neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini (pictured) is the longest-living Nobel laureate and the oldest of them: she turned 103 this year. She was awarded the Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1986, when she celebrated her 77th birthday. The oldest laureate at the time of the award was 90-year-old American Leonid Gurvich (Prize in Economics - 2007), and the youngest was 25-year-old Australian William Lawrence Bragg (Prize in Physics - 1915), who became a laureate along with his father William Henry Bragg.
Women of Nobel
The most big number women laureates include the Nobel Peace Prize (15 people) and the Literature Prize (11 people). However, the winners of the literary prize can boast that the first of them was awarded high rank 37 years earlier: in 1909 Nobel laureate in literature was the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf (pictured), and the first female peace prize winner was the American Emily Green Balch in 1946.
According to the rules of the Nobel Foundation, no more than three people can receive a prize in one field for different works in a year - or no more than three authors of one work. The first three were Americans George Whipple, George Minot and William Murphy (pictured), awarded the Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934. And the last (as of 2011) are Americans Saul Pellmutter and Adam Reiss and Australian Brian Schmidt (physics), as well as Liberians Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni citizen Tawakul Karman (Nobel Peace Prize). If the prize is awarded to more than one person or for more than one work, it is divided proportionally: first by the number of works, then by the number of authors of each work. If two works are awarded the prize, one of which has two authors, then the author of the first will receive half the amount, and each of the authors of the second will receive only a quarter.
Nobel passes
The rules for awarding the Nobel Prize do not necessarily require it to be awarded every year: according to the decision of the Nobel Committee, if there is no worthy work among those vying for a high award, the prize may not be awarded. In this case, its monetary equivalent is transferred to the Nobel Foundation in whole or in part - in the latter case, from a third to two thirds of the amount can be transferred to the special fund of the profile section. During three war years - in 1940, 1941 and 1942 - Nobel Prizes were awarded at all. Taking into account this omission, the Nobel Peace Prize was most often not awarded (18 times), the Prize in Physiology and Medicine - nine times, in Chemistry - eight times, in Literature - seven times, in Physics - six times, and in the award of the Prize in Economics, introduced only in 1969, there was not a single pass.
Nobel transformation
The famous physicist Ernest Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. The phrase with which he responded to this news became popular: the scientist said that “All science is either physics or stamp collecting,” and a little later he commented on his award even more figuratively, saying that of all the transformations that he witnessed, “The most unexpected thing was my own transformation from a physicist to a chemist.”
Nobel heirs
The first Nobel Prize winner in physics was Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, awarded in 1901 for the discovery of X-rays. In total, for work directly related to the application of Roentgen's discovery in science, Nobel Prizes were awarded 12 more times, including in physics (seven times), in physiology and medicine (three times) and in chemistry (twice): in 1914, 1915, 1917, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1936, 1946, 1962, 1964, 1979 and 1981.
The Nobel Prize has existed for 112 years. Who is he, the Nobel laureate? How old is he and where is he from? How often are the prizes awarded to women, and which scientists have received the honor twice? DW has collected 9 of the most interesting facts about the Nobel Prize.
1. The USA is ahead of everyone in the Nobel Prize
Most Nobel Prizes in scientific disciplines - physics, chemistry and medicine - went to Americans. Their share is 43 percent. The Germans are in second place in physics and chemistry, and the British are in third place. As for medicine, the order is reversed. In fourth place are the French.
2. Nobel laureates are born more often in spring or winter
3. The prize winner is usually over 50 years old
The average age of Nobel Prize winners in all six categories is 59 years. The winners of prizes in the natural sciences are slightly younger. Among chemists and physicists this is 57 years, in medicine - 55.
4. Both young and old deserve a Nobel Prize
The youngest scientist to receive the prize was 25-year-old physicist William Lawrence Bragg in 1915. And its most elderly owners are Leonid Gurvits (2007) and Lloyd Stawell Shapley (2012). When they were awarded the Nobel Prizes in Economics, the scientists were 90 and 89 years old, respectively.
5. The prize was also awarded posthumously
Twice in history the Nobel Prize was awarded posthumously: the Nobel Peace Prize for 1961 to Dag Hammerskjold, and the Prize for Literature for 1931 to Erik Axel Karlfeldt.
Official rules allow a candidate to be nominated for the award only during his or her lifetime. Hammerskjöld and Karlfeldt were nominated during their lifetime, but by the time the names of the laureates were announced, they had passed away.
In 1974, they decided not to give the award to the dead anymore. Nevertheless, in 2011, the Nobel Prize was again awarded to the deceased. When the Nobel Committee announced the name of Ralph Steinman, nominated for the prize in medicine, it was not yet known that he had died three days before the ceremony. Later, the Steinman Prize was received by his heirs.
6. Twice Nobel Prize winners
Four scientists were laureates of the prize twice. American physicist John Bardeen received it for the first time in 1956 for the invention of the transistor, and for the second time in 1972 for developing the theory of superconductivity (the ability of some materials to have strictly zero electrical resistance).
context
The Englishman Frederick Sanger was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice - in 1958 for establishing the structure of insulin and in 1980 for fundamental research into biochemical properties nucleic acids, especially recombinant DNA.
The American chemist Linus Carl Pauling received two different prizes - in 1954 in chemistry, and in 1962 - the Peace Prize. Pauling was an active opponent of nuclear weapons testing.
7. The Nobel Prize is not a woman's business
There are few women among the laureates. The most famous woman, twice awarded the prize, Marie Curie. In 1903 she received an award in physics for her research into the phenomena of radiation, and in 1911 she received an award in chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium.
In total, women have been awarded the Nobel Prize 44 times, but only 16 times for achievements in one of the three disciplines of natural science. This is only 3 percent of total number award winners in these areas. Two women received prizes in physics, four in chemistry and 10 in medicine.
8. They refused the Nobel Prize, more than once
Nobel Peace Prize laureates Le Duc Tho and the Jean-Paul Sartre Prize for Literature refused to accept the awards. Sartre did not want any official honors at all, and Le Dych Tho motivated his refusal in 1973 by the ongoing civil war in Vietnam.
9. Germans were prohibited from receiving the Nobel Prize
During the time the National Socialists were in power in Germany, German scientists were prohibited from accepting these awards. As a result, chemists Richard Kuhn and Adolf Butenandt, as well as Gerhard Domagk, winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Medicine, were left without prizes in 1938 and 1939. After the end of World War II, they still received diplomas and medals, but not the financial part of the award.
October 10th, 2012
Associated with the 111-year-old most prestigious scientific award in the world are: tragic moments, and funny incidents, and quite detective stories. Forbes magazine selected the ten most remarkable facts from the history of the Nobel Prize, including quite detective cases and simply funny moments.
The second week of October has been called Nobel for 111 years: it is at this time that the Nobel Foundation, in accordance with the terms of the will of the famous Swedish scientist, announces the names of the winners of the most prestigious scientific prize in the world. In 2012, laureates in the field of physiology and medicine and physics have already been named, and the last laureates in the field of economics will be named on October 15. It is not so easy to answer the question “How many Nobel Prize laureates are there?” In total, from 1901 to 2011, the prize was received by 851 laureates, but in the list of people and organizations awarded by name there are only 844 names and titles - simply because some were laureates twice or even three times.
The largest number of laureates—199 people (including 2012)—received awards for research in the field of physiology and medicine. There are only six fewer physicists - 193 (including 2012), of which one - twice. 160 laureates received the prize in chemistry (including one twice), 121 received the peace prize (including one twice and one three times), 108 in literature, and a total of 69 in economics (introduced in 1969) .
Repeated winners
Among the rules for awarding Nobel Prizes is the condition that all prizes, except the Peace Prize, can be awarded to one person only once. Nevertheless, four Nobel laureates are known who received the prize twice: Marie Sklodowska-Curie (pictured; in physics - in 1903, in chemistry - in 1911), Linus Pauling (in chemistry - in 1954, peace prize - in 1962), John Bardeen (in physics - in 1956 and 1972) and Frederick Sanger (in chemistry - in 1958 and 1980). In the history of the Nobel Prize, there has only been one three-time winner - the International Committee of the Red Cross, which received the Peace Prize (this prize is the only one that allows nomination of not only individuals, but also organizations) in 1917, 1944 and 1963.
Laureates posthumously
In 1974, the Nobel Foundation introduced a rule that the Nobel Prize should not be awarded posthumously. Before this, there were only two cases of posthumous award of the prize: in 1931 - to Erik Karlfeldt (for literature), and in 1961 - to Dag Hammarskjöld (peace prize). After the rule was introduced, it was violated only once, and then due to a tragic coincidence. In 2011, the Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Ralph Steinman (pictured), but he died of cancer a few hours before the decision of the Nobel Committee was announced.
Nobel economy
This year, the monetary portion of the Nobel Prize is $1.1 million. The amount was reduced by 20% in June 2012 in order to save money. As the Nobel Foundation argued for this step, the innovation will help avoid reducing the organization’s capital in the long term, because capital management should be carried out in such a way that “the prize can be awarded indefinitely.”
Nobel cache
In the entire history of the Nobel Prize, there has only been one recorded case where laureates received the same Nobel medals twice for the same discovery. German physicists Max von Laue (1915 laureate) and James Frank (1925 laureate), after the ban on receiving Nobel Prizes introduced in 1936 in Nazi Germany, handed over their medals for preservation to Niels Bohr, who headed the institute in Copenhagen. In 1940, when the Reich occupied Denmark, an employee of the institute, Hungarian Gyorgy de Hevesy (pictured), fearing that the medals might be confiscated, dissolved them in “regia vodka” (a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids), and after liberation isolated the gold from the preserved solution of chloroauric acid and donated it to the Royal Swedish Academy. There, Nobel medals were again made from it, which were returned to the laureates. By the way, Gyorgy de Hevesy himself was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944.
Nobel centenarian
Italian neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini (pictured) is the longest-living Nobel laureate and the oldest of them: she turned 103 this year. She was awarded the Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1986, when she celebrated her 77th birthday. The oldest laureate at the time of the award was 90-year-old American Leonid Gurvich (Prize in Economics - 2007), and the youngest was 25-year-old Australian William Lawrence Bragg (Prize in Physics - 1915), who became a laureate along with his father William Henry Bragg.
Women of Nobel
The largest number of women laureates are among the Nobel Peace Prize (15 people) and the Literature Prize (11 people). However, the winners of the literary prize can boast that the first of them was awarded the high title 37 years earlier: in 1909, the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf (pictured) became the Nobel laureate in literature, and the first female peace prize laureate was the American Emily Green Balch in 1946.
Nobel co-authors
According to the rules of the Nobel Foundation, no more than three people can receive a prize in one field for different works in a year - or no more than three authors of one work. The first three were Americans George Whipple, George Minot and William Murphy (pictured), awarded the Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934. And the last (as of 2011) are Americans Saul Pellmutter and Adam Reiss and Australian Brian Schmidt (physics), as well as Liberians Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni citizen Tawakul Karman (Nobel Peace Prize). If the prize is awarded to more than one person or for more than one work, it is divided proportionally: first by the number of works, then by the number of authors of each work. If two works are awarded the prize, one of which has two authors, then the author of the first will receive half the amount, and each of the authors of the second will receive only a quarter.
Nobel passes
The rules for awarding the Nobel Prize do not necessarily require it to be awarded every year: according to the decision of the Nobel Committee, if there is no worthy work among those vying for a high award, the prize may not be awarded. In this case, its monetary equivalent is transferred to the Nobel Foundation in whole or in part - in the latter case, from a third to two thirds of the amount can be transferred to the special fund of the profile section. During three war years - in 1940, 1941 and 1942 - Nobel Prizes were awarded at all. Taking into account this omission, the Nobel Peace Prize was most often not awarded (18 times), the Prize in Physiology and Medicine - nine times, in Chemistry - eight times, in Literature - seven times, in Physics - six times, and in the award of the Prize in Economics, introduced only in 1969, there was not a single pass.
Nobel transformation
The famous physicist Ernest Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. The phrase with which he responded to this news became popular: the scientist said that “All science is either physics or stamp collecting,” and a little later he commented on his award even more figuratively, saying that of all the transformations that he witnessed, “The most unexpected thing was my own transformation from a physicist to a chemist.”
Nobel heirs
The first Nobel Prize winner in physics was Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, awarded in 1901 for the discovery of X-rays. In total, for work directly related to the application of Roentgen's discovery in science, Nobel Prizes were awarded 12 more times, including in physics (seven times), in physiology and medicine (three times) and in chemistry (twice): in 1914, 1915, 1917, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1936, 1946, 1962, 1964, 1979 and 1981.
As revenge, the US government did not issue Linus Pauling a passport, and he was unable to attend a conference in London, where he planned to announce the helical structure of DNA. Therefore, priority went to Crick and Watson, and not to Pauling. Otherwise there could have been more Nobel medals.
Linus Carl Pauling, a famous chemist, crystallographer and pacifist, is not for nothing considered one of the most outstanding scientists of the twentieth century. In terms of the significance of his discoveries for science, he stands next to the great Albert Einstein, being, according to research, one of the two most popular scientists of the 20th century! His achievements in science, as well as in the field of struggle for the benefit of humanity, were awarded two Nobel Prizes - in chemistry in 1954 with the wording “For the study of the nature of the chemical bond and its application to explaining the structure of complex molecules” and the Peace Prize in 1962. In 1970, During the time of “détente,” Brezhnev awarded him the international Lenin Prize “For Strengthening Peace Among Nations,” although until that time Linus Pauling had received a fair amount of punishment from Soviet scientists for his “bourgeois” views on science.
On February 28, 1901, in the American city of Portland, a reddish, vocal first-born was born into the family of the poor son of German emigrants Herman Pauling and the daughter of Irish-Americans Lucy Isabel Darling. The boy was named Linus. In infancy, he was a rather noisy child, and his father joked that his son had a real Irish throat, although this property of his offspring did not in the least prevent him from getting a daughter the next year, and the year after giving his son another sister.
At the end of 1904, with a wife and three children in his arms, Herman Pauling, who had devoted himself to the vain and traveling profession of a traveling salesman for a medical company, decided to change his occupation and settle in a new place. In 1905, he moved to a town that had a rather sonorous name for the Russian ear, Condon, in Oregon. There he became a pharmacist, opening his own establishment. It must be said that a pharmacy in America is not quite a pharmacy, but also something like a cafe, although in those days this difference was somewhat less noticeable than now.
Linus Pauling
Image source: http://revistafrontal.com
The boy grew up a little and went to school. By that time he knew how to read and write perfectly and literally “devoured” book after book. The family moved to Portland in 1910, and his father, wanting expert advice on how to build the right library for his child, wrote a letter asking this question to the local newspaper. After all, young Linus studied the Bible - and at the same time enthusiastically absorbed Darwin's theory. The father was afraid that the guy’s brains would boil. It was necessary to somehow streamline this process. His father died that same year very young, but before that he managed to significantly expand his library, including books on chemistry, which largely predetermined the boy’s fate.
It was really hard for the family. The mother was a housewife, and the inheritance she received was rather meager. To feed his family, Linus went to work as a dishwasher in a cafe, and in the evenings he sorted and sorted paper in a printing house. He was a reserved and thoughtful guy, he could spend hours staring at various insects and sorting out colorful stones so enthusiastically that his sisters predicted a career as a jeweler for Linus. At the age of 13, Pauling found himself in a chemical laboratory and was so shocked and fascinated by this spectacle that he immediately decided to become a chemist. He brought kitchen utensils into his room and acquired his own home research center.
Due to poverty and the need to work, the young man was unable to continue his studies at school, but this did not prevent him from entering the free Oregon Agricultural College, which later became a state university. Linus studied so hard that all the teachers paid attention to him. In his last year he became an assistant at the department, and a year later he became an assistant at the department. In 1922 he became a bachelor in the field chemical technology. Pauling was invited to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and he was writing his dissertation there. Then he marries the pretty Ava Helen Miller, his student, the hope and support of his whole life, who bore him three sons and a daughter. Together Ave and Linus lived 58 happy years.
In 1925, Pauling received his doctorate in chemistry. In just over five years, he first became an assistant professor, then an associate professor, and in 1931, a professor of chemistry. All this time, Linus Pauling worked successfully and fruitfully in the field of crystallography, X-raying various crystals. He read X-rays with such ease and simplicity that some students laughed, saying that he had the vision to see subatomic structures with his own eyes.
By the way, Pauling, still a very young man, had an undoubted teaching gift, being able to fully involve the audience in the learning process. He explained his subject so vividly and vividly that the students did not notice the time. At the same time, Pauling had a unique talent: in literally a few simple and accessible phrases to the average mind, he could explain the most complex processes and achieve successful results precisely in understanding the subject. For example, the great Einstein, who considered all ordinary doctors of physics to be fools who could not understand his theory of relativity, was completely unable to do this. Although in fact the brilliant physicist simply did not know how to explain it clearly enough to the audience. It’s good that at least Ioffe and Landau were sorted out...
Pauling received a scholarship and went to Europe, where he trained in the laboratories of major European luminaries of that time - Sommerfeld, Schrödinger, Bohr.
Back in 1928, the scientist formulated his theory of hybridization or, as it is also called, the theory of resonance. Pauling looked at the molecule as the result of resonance, that is, the superposition of several structures on top of each other. Moreover, each structure tells about individual features of the properties and structure of the molecule. He wrote his famous “The Nature of the Chemical Bond,” applying quantum theory to solve many scientific problems. This book put him on a par with the largest scientists on the planet. This work is translated into dozens of languages, and the book becomes a guiding star for the development of world chemical science.
Linus Pauling clarified a number of mechanisms of immunity by studying proteins and antibodies. He studied hemoglobin and made discoveries in the field of virology. The outbreak of the Second World War forced Pauling to take the path of fighting fascism. A convinced pacifist who ignored the past world war, he develops explosives, jet fuel, oxygen generators for aviation and submariners. Military doctors received from him a system for obtaining blood plasma in field conditions. His contribution to the victory was very great and was awarded a US government medal. But respect for the scientist soon gave way to hysteria...
In the USSR, Pauling's theory was met with hostility. It caused an outbreak of state obscurantism and communist indignation. After the massacre of linguists, cybernetics and geneticists, the target of the “red scientists” from the MGB became chemistry. Pauling's theory of resonance, as well as Ingold's related theory of mesomerism, became the target of an attack on the “bourgeois worldview.” In 1951, a meeting of obscurantists from science was held in the USSR, “defeating” Pauling’s theory. But this did not stop the world community from appreciating the scientist’s works. In 1954 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
As a member of US federal safety commissions, he became aware of the dangers of nuclear weapons and became deeply involved in the issue. The result was an anti-war committee formed in 1946, which included famous nuclear scientists. Pauling proved that tests atomic weapons a priori cannot be safe. The audience was dumbfounded. What especially killed American citizens was the fact that because of strontium-90, every year 55,000 children will be born disabled, and 500,000 will be stillborn, and iodine-131 threatens literally everyone with thyroid cancer. Panic and protests began in the country, the government added Linus Pauling to the list of unreliable people and became interested in his “anti-American activities.” As revenge, the US government did not issue the scientist a passport, and Pauling was unable to get to London for a scientific conference, where he planned to stun the world with the DNA helix. Therefore, priority went to Crick and Watson, and not to him. Otherwise there could have been more Nobel medals.
Pauling was declared a secret agent of the Kremlin when he published an anti-war appeal signed by 11,000 of the most important scientists from 49 countries; At the same time, he published the bestseller “No to War.” In 1960, he launched new initiatives against nuclear testing. They tried to intimidate him with prison and a mental hospital, and again and again they accused him of collaborating with the Russians. But then something happened that temporarily shut the mouths of the militaristic mongrels - Linus Pauling received the Nobel Peace Prize. However, they even tried to challenge the award. The press called him Pisnik: from the English peace and Russian sputnik, hinting at the Russian rubles for which he sold himself to the communists. The scientist did not pay any attention to the persecution, concentrating on preparing a campaign to ban atomic weapons tests. Finally, the USSR, Great Britain and the USA sign a test renunciation agreement. At the same time, Pauling was not remembered, but his merit is obvious.
His funding was completely cut off, and he could no longer work, but he did not give up. Three years later, Pauling again annoyed the US government and Congress by signing the Declaration of Civil Disobedience “Conscience Against the Vietnam War.” Linus Pauling had to leave the University and move to Stafford.
Kidney problems started. For the Irish, the kidneys are generally a sore spot. Moreover, Linus’s genetics were not at all like those of a long-liver: his father died at 34, his mother at 45. Nothing helped. Biochemists, including the famous Irving Stone, suggested that he drink vitamin C. Even in those days, people understood that it was not just a matter of viruses and bacteria. A person, like a monkey, does not produce ascorbic acid, but all other animals do it easily, and up to a gram per day - exactly as much as needed. Pauling calculated his dose of vitamin C. It turned out to be 10 grams per day, as much as 200 times more than can be obtained from food. I tested the dosage on myself - the colds stopped.
In 1970, he published a new book, “Vitamin C and the Common Cold,” all copies of which were instantly snapped up by the public. Gray-haired, but incredibly lively and nimble, the 70-year-old professor became a walking advertisement for vitamin C. The Academy of American Sciences recommended 00.6 grams of vitamin C for an adult man, and Pauling recommended from 6 to 18 full-weight grams. Pauling suggested determining the individual dosage by observing the stomach. Increase the dose a little every day. As soon as your stomach pleases, that’s your norm. The people washed away all the ascorbic acid in the pharmacies, and the evil pharmacists flew into a rage: they stopped taking expensive medicines completely.
There were a lot of reviews from those who were cured and recovered, although the press charged him with the destruction of the entire American people. In response, Pauling stated that aspirin, taken at random, kills 10,000 people every year, half of them children. And no one has died from ascorbic acid yet. Not stopping there, the scientist is studying the effect of vitamin C on cholesterol metabolism. He makes a conclusion, rather ambiguous by modern standards, that the use of vitamin C protects blood vessels from “bad” cholesterol. At this time, pharmaceutical concerns and individual greedy pharmacists continued to spoil the scientist. He was declared a charlatan, constantly hounded in the newspapers, and cut off on the road. And he continued to experiment on himself.
Later, research results showed that overdoses of vitamin C cause serious problems, in particular from the gastrointestinal tract. intestinal tract. They argued that it was not the scientist’s fault, he simply did not have time to complete the research (although he managed to recommend taking vitamin C to an entire nation). Even his mistakes in dosages forced doctors to take the problem of vitamins seriously. Pauling received two Nobel Prizes, a lot of medals, orders, honorary titles and other awards. But he presented the main award to himself: Pauling lived for almost 94 years, and for the last 27 years he was not sick. Until the last minute he remained in a bright, lively mind, clear consciousness and cheerfulness. Just one day he was gone...
Probably, only humanity’s desire for self-expression and heroic deeds contributes to the emergence of unusually tenacious initiatives. So a gentleman named Nobel took it and decided to leave his money to his descendants in order to reward gentlemen who had distinguished themselves in one field or another. He rested in the damp earth for a long time, but the people remember him. The population is waiting (some impatiently) for the next lucky ones to be announced. And the candidates try, set goals, even intrigue, trying to ascend to this Olympus of glory. And if everything is clear with scientists and researchers - they receive their awards for real achievements or discoveries, then what makes the Nobel Peace Prize laureates stand out? Interesting? Let's figure it out.
Who awards the prize and for what?
There is a special committee whose main task is to select and approve
candidates for the field's highest honor. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to people who have distinguished themselves in promoting security and stability on the planet. It is issued annually. The procedure takes place in Oslo, on the tenth of December. At the same time, both international organizations and national governments can nominate a candidate to become a laureate. They are listed in the Committee Charter. Any person who was or is a member of the Nobel Committee is also eligible to participate in the nomination process. In addition, the Charter grants such privileges to university professors involved in politics or history.
When studying who received the Nobel Peace Prize, they inevitably come across the name of another political figure whose activities do not cause criticism. Such a person is Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama. This is absolutely outstanding personality. From an early age he was forced to take on spiritual leadership. Buddhists recognized the boy as the incarnation of the deceased lama. Subsequently, he had to take on political responsibility for Tibet (at the age of sixteen). All his work is based on kindness, tolerance and love (from the formulation of the Nobel Committee). It should be added that he was unable to reach an agreement with the Chinese government. Now he lives and pursues his ideas in exile.
It turns out that not everything is so simple!
There are also very controversial winners of this high award. The committee is often criticized for being too politicized. Residents of the post-Soviet space see Mikhail Gorbachev as such a figure. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to such a controversial figure from the point of view of the world community as Yasser Arafat.
This decision of the Committee is considered scandalous on the grounds that this laureate did not deny military ways to achieve his goals. On his account not only fights, but also Act of terrorism. He himself proclaimed his goal to be the destruction of the whole sovereign state(Israel). That is, despite the fact that Arafat fought for the well-being of the people of the Middle East, it is difficult to assign him the title of peacemaker. Another scandalous figure is Barack Obama. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to him in 2009. It must be said that the Committee had to come to terms with a barrage of criticism regarding this decision.
More about Obama
There is still an opinion in the world press that the President of the States was awarded the award “in advance.” At that time, he had just taken office and had not yet distinguished himself in anything significant. And the initiatives and decisions that he subsequently made do not at all explain why he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Obama is considered the president who unleashed greatest number military conflicts. Their victims are incalculable due to the “hybrid nature” of these clashes (a term that has appeared quite recently). He had to make decisions about bombing and ground operations. He is criticized for the invasion of Syria, unrest in Iraq and Ukraine. Nevertheless, Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize and is among its laureates.
This “advance reward” leads to more and more scandals. As areas of tension emerge, some politicians are in favor of canceling this award. There is an opinion that such unpeaceful behavior disgraces the high bonus. In the Russian Federation, naturally, they believe that V.V. Putin is a more worthy candidate. The Nobel Peace Prize may yet be awarded to him for the true tenacity he shows in resolving conflicts.
About money
People are often interested not so much in the achievements of the individuals awarded this award, but in its amount. The Nobel Peace Prize can truly boggle the mind. The fact is that all the Committee’s funds do not just sit in financial institutions. They “work” by increasing in size. According to the will, the profit is divided into five parts. They are not the same and are becoming more and more impressive in size from year to year. Thus, the very first amount awarded in 1901 was equal to forty-two thousand dollars. In 2003, the amount was already 1.35 million. Its size is influenced by the state of the world economy. Dividends that go towards payments can not only increase, but also decrease. For example, in 2007 the bonus amount was 1.542 million, and by 2008 it “melted” ($1.4 million).
These funds are distributed in five equal shares according to nominations, and then according to the number of laureates, in accordance with the rules according to which the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. How many money will go for awards in each year - determined by the Committee, having carried out appropriate calculations of earnings from securities and other assets.
Russian laureates
Our fellow citizens have received such an award only twice. In addition to Gorbachev, this honor was awarded to scientist Andrey Sakharov. However, not his scientific works became the reason for the award. Sakharov was considered a human rights activist and a fighter against the regime. IN Soviet times he was subjected to harsh criticism and persecution. The scientist worked on the creation of hydrogen weapons. Despite this, he openly advocated a ban on weapons testing mass destruction, against the arms race. His ideas were very popular in society and were not at all liked by the ruling elite.
Sakharov is generally considered a passionate advocate of peace who suffered for his views. The Nobel Committee used the wording: “for courage in the fight against abuse of power...”. Nevertheless, he was rather an idealist, a kind and non-aggressive person (according to the recollections of his colleagues). More Russians have never received a high award, which does not mean that there are no worthy individuals living in our country. Quicker, this fact can be perceived as political bias of the Committee, the use of the award in geopolitical competition.
Who didn't receive the award, but deserves it?
Many politicians believe that Mahatma Gandhi, more than any other figure, deserved a high award. This man was involved in organizing the struggle of Indians against the colonialists. Gandhi not only had to come up with ways in which a weak and unarmed population could resist the British army, but they also had to be related to the peculiarities of the local religion. This method was invented by him. It was called nonviolent resistance and is often used today. Mahatma Gandhi was proposed to the Committee five times. Only there were “more worthy” candidates (which again can be explained by the politicization of this organization). Subsequently, officials responsible for awarding the Nobel Prize expressed their regret that Gandhi never became a laureate.
Incidents of the Nobel Committee
There are such incredible things in the history of this organization that today can only be perceived anecdotally. So, as you know, none other than Adolf Hitler was nominated for this award in 1939. Fortunately, he did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize. And it's not about money. What would be the prestige of an organization that would call a peacemaker a person responsible for the death of millions of people on our planet? The Nobel Committee refused to award it, motivating its decision by the Nazis' attitude towards Jews.
Nevertheless, during his nomination, Hitler’s activities looked quite progressive to the German intelligentsia. He had just concluded two major peace agreements, was boosting industry, and caring about the development of science and art. Nowadays people understand to what extent Hitler's claims to the award were absurd and unfounded. But at that time, the people of Germany perceived him as a real leader, leading them to bright life. Yes, to some extent this was true. He really cared about the Germans, only at the expense of people of other nationalities. To the credit of the members of the Nobel Committee, they understood this and rejected his candidacy for the prize.
Collective laureates
This award has been awarded three times to organizations associated in one way or another with the Red Cross. If we take into account the first laureate - its organizer, then four. It should be noted that this international organization undoubtedly deserves such high praise. Its representatives always find a field for activity. Whether in areas of bloody conflicts or epidemics, they often find themselves at the center of events, lending a much-needed hand of support to unfortunate people in distress. By the way, the UN was the winner of the prize once (2001), previously it was noted peacekeeping forces(1988) and the Refugee Service (1981). Among the not very well-known laureate organizations we can name International organization labor (1969). Perhaps we don’t hear about the wave because a lot of time has passed since its influence in the world was so great that it received an award.
There are many winners of this serious award. The names of some went down in history with courage and bravery, others with scandals and intrigues. Still others are not remembered at all. Nevertheless, people want this award to fall into the hands of truly worthy individuals, regardless of the political situation.