Nobel Peace Prize laureates: list. Who received the Nobel Peace Prize? The main facts about the Nobel Prize The Nobel Prize was refused, and more than once

Justification: "In recognition of the extraordinary possibilities they have discovered in their joint research into a radiation phenomenon discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel"

Justification: “For outstanding services in the development of chemistry: the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this wonderful element”

Marie Skłodowska-Curie is the first female laureate, the first two-time Nobel laureate in the history of the prize, and the first to receive the prize twice in different categories(Linus Pauling joined her in 1962 for the Peace Prize, after winning the Chemistry Prize in 1954). Together with her husband, she discovered the elements radium and polonium, and the element curium was named in honor of the spouses.

Bertha von Suttner (1843-1914)

Rationale: Honorary President organizations International Peace Bureau; author of the novel “Down with Weapons!”

Bertha von Suttner is the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the second woman to receive Nobel Prize(after Marie Curie). After receiving the Nobel Prize, Suttner's fame as a writer and speaker increased even more. Back in 1908, from the podium of the London Peace Congress, her call was made for the unification of the countries of Europe as the only way to avoid world war.

Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940)


Rationale: "In appreciation of the noble idealism, ardent imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings."

Selma Lagerlöf is a Swedish writer and the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. She is the author of the world-famous fairytale book Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese.

Irene Joliot-Curie (1897—1956)

Justification: “For the synthesis of new radioactive elements”

Irene Joliot-Curie - French physicist, eldest daughter Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. In the opening speech on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, K. W. Pahlmeier reminded Joliot-Curie of how she had attended a similar ceremony 24 years earlier when her mother received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. “In collaboration with your husband, you are proudly continuing this brilliant tradition.”

Gertie Corey (1896-1957)

Justification: “For the discovery of a course of catalytic conversion of glycogen”

Gertie Corey is an American biochemist, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, together with her husband Carl Corey. Their work led to the elucidation of enzymatic defects in diseases associated with glycogen storage and expanded fundamental scientific discoveries, in particular in the field of pediatrics.

Maria Goeppert-Mayer (1906—1972)


Justification: "For his discoveries concerning the structure of the core shell"

Maria Goeppert-Mayer is a physicist and one of two female Nobel Prize winners in physics. Also in the late 1940s and early 1950s, she performed radiation absorption calculations for Edward Teller, which were probably used in the design hydrogen bomb. After Goeppert-Mayer's death, the American Physical Society created an award in her honor, given to a young woman physicist at the beginning of her scientific career.

Mother Teresa (1910-1997)


Justification: “For activities to help a suffering person”

Mother Teresa is a Catholic nun, the founder of the women's monastic congregation “Missionary Sisters of Love”, dedicated to serving the poor and sick. On October 19, 2003 she was beatified (canonized) by the Catholic Church, and on September 4, 2016 she was canonized by the Roman Saints catholic church.

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (born 1947)


Rationale: "For their discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus"

Under the leadership of Luc Montagnier, she participated in the discovery in 1983 of the HIV retrovirus, which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome in humans. Françoise devoted her life to the popularization of science, the fight against AIDS and educational work.

Elinor Ostrom (1933—2012)


Justification: “For research in the field economic organization»

Elinor Ostrom is an American political scientist and economist, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Ostrom's work challenges conventional wisdom by showing that management of common resources can be successfully implemented without government regulation and privatization.

Malala Yousafzai (born 1997)


Rationale: "For the fight against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education"

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani human rights activist who advocates for access to education for women around the world. Having received the Nobel Prize at the age of 17, she became the youngest laureate of the prize in the entire history of its existence.

Prize winners in the field of medicine and physiology. In the following days, the world will recognize the best of the best in other categories. So, on October 4, the decision of the Nobel Committee in physics will be announced, on October 5 - in chemistry. The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on October 7. Among them are the famous whistleblower of American intelligence services Edward Snowden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Pope Francis. The winner of the Economics Prize will be announced on October 10. Finally, the award in the field of literature will be awarded - the masters of the pen will be announced on October 13.

It is worth noting that this Nobel week will be special. It is 120 years since the death of Alfred Nobel. In addition, a record number of laureates are vying for prestigious awards - this year there are 376 of them, including 148 scientific organizations. The award ceremony will take place on December 10 at the Stockholm Philharmonic, the day of Nobel's death. The amount of the cash bonus this year will be 932 thousand dollars. In the selection “WORLD 24” - Interesting Facts from the history of the Nobel Prize.

All ages are obedient to the Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize is awarded to both young and old. Although most of the prize winners are over 50 years old. The Nobel Prize winner of all time was 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan. In 2014, she was awarded the Peace Prize "for her fight against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education." The oldest laureate at the time of the award was 90-year-old American economist Leonid Gurvich. In 2007, he was awarded the Nobel Prize “for creating the foundations of the theory of optimal mechanisms.” In turn, the Nobel winner is the Italian neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini. She made a significant discovery that helped in the treatment of cancer and Alzheimer's disease. At the time of the scientist's death in 2012, she was 103 years old.

The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious award that can be given in the fields of chemistry, physics, literature, physiology or medicine and peace. When Alfred Nobel died in Italy in 1896, he left no heirs, and most of his fortune was placed in trust to be used as prizes for those who succeeded in their field. According to the Nobel Prize website, only 590 prizes have been awarded since 1901.

Obviously, winning a Nobel Prize is not easy. Four people received it twice. Many worthy candidates are nominated, but usually only one (or one team) can win. Some candidates are nominated more than once. Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld was nominated 84 times, but never received; his students were more fortunate.

Arnold Sommerfeld

Sommerfeld was born in 1868 in East Prussia and received doctorate in mathematics and physics from the University of Königsberg in 1891.
In 1895 he received a teaching license higher mathematics. Sommerfeld's talents became widely known when he moved to the chair of mathematics at the Bergakademie in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, in 1897. He also became the editor of the 1926 German mathematical encyclopedia Enzyklopädie der mathematischen Wissenschaften.


Arnold Sommerfeld, Stuttgart, 1935.

Sommerfeld later headed the department of applied mechanics at the Konigliche Technische Hochschule Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, where he advanced his theory of fluid dynamics. In 1906, Sommerfeld was director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Munich. Among his students at both these universities were many names known in scientific circles.

It was at Konigliche that he taught Peter Debye, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1936 for his contributions to the study of molecular structure.


Peter Joseph Debye(1884-1966)

In Munich, Sommerfeld taught Werner Heisenberg. Heisenberg received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932 for his creation quantum mechanics. Other Munich students include Wolfgang Pauli, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945 for his discovery of the “Pauli exclusion principle,” and Hans Bethe, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theory of stellar nucleosynthesis in 1967.

Albert Einstein once remarked: “There is no level of scientist who could lay claim to Sommerfeld as a mentor.”

Mathematician Morris Klein said about Sommerfeld that he brought up greatest physicists in the first 30 years of the 20th century.
Jewish mathematician, physicist and Nobel laureate Max Born noted that Sommerfield took undisciplined but creative minds and helped them learn what they did not know, and developed the skills and discipline necessary to conduct fruitful research.


Solvay Conference in Brussels, October 1927

With the outbreak of war, many promising European scientists fled Germany. Sommerfeld decided to stay and continue working.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, he, along with the Englishman William Wilson, discovered the Sommerfeld-Wilson quantization rules, worked with electromagnetism and hydrodynamics, and improved the theory of X-ray waves. He did exhaustive work on wave mechanics, and his theory of electrons in metals was valuable in the study of thermoelectricity and conductivity.


Arnold Sommerfeld

Sommerfeld's Nobel Prize nominations can be found in the archive on the Nobel Prize website. His name was nominated for awards for work in physics in 1917, 1918, twice in 1919, 1920, four times in 1922, twice in 1923, 1924, six times in 1925, three times in 1926, three times in 1927 year, three times in 1928 - nine times in 1929, four times in 1930, twice in 1931, five times in 1932, eight times in 1933, six times in 1934, 1935, twice in 1936, eight times in 1937, 1940, 1948, three times in 1949, three times in 1950 and four times in 1951.


In 1951, at the age of 82, Sommerfeld was hit by a truck while crossing the street - the accident was caused by deteriorating hearing.

Two months later, on April 26, he died. Although he never received the Nobel Prize himself, it can be said that he received it many times thanks to his students.

It turns out that sometimes the prize is given to “copy-pasters” and the dead ">It turns out that sometimes the prize is given to “copy-pasters” and the dead " alt="10 facts about the Nobel Prize It turns out that sometimes bonuses are given to “copy-pastors” and the dead!}">

Every year on December 10, several hundred people iron their tuxedos and evening dresses to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony, the world's most famous prize. On this occasion, we decided to remember the most remarkable facts from the history of the award, among which there are both funny cases and quite detective stories

Even such a generous organization as the Nobel Foundation is also sometimes forced to tighten its belts and reduce the monetary portion of the Nobel Prize. This amount was reduced by 20% in June 2012 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.”

The dead are either treated well or not at all, but they are not supposed to receive a bonus. 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 Physiology or Medicine Prize was awarded to Ralph Steinman, pictured here, but he died of cancer hours before the Nobel Committee's decision was announced.

The bonus is meant to give short-term joy without turning into a habit. Therefore, among the rules for awarding 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.

Among the laureates there are also those who set records not only in science. Italian neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini 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.

There are not many women among the laureates, but still representatives of the fair sex sometimes manage to bite off a piece of the Nobel pie. 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.

Among the laureates there are also those who are able to achieve significant results by working together. Invented for such people special conditions: according to the rules of the Nobel Foundation, no more than three people for different works or no more than three authors of one work can receive a prize in one field in a year.

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.

There were prizes and detective stories in the story. Thus, in the entire history there has been only one recorded case when 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.

NOT ISSUED AWARDS

There have been cases when prizes were simply not awarded due to the lack of laureates. 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.

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

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, 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 woman laureate of the Peace Prize was the American Emily Green Bolch 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.



What else to read