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( Nobel prize)
The Nobel Prize (Swedish Nobelpriset) is a Swedish prize, established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. An associated prize, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was instituted by Sweden's central bank in 1968 and first awarded in 1969.[1] The Nobel Prizes in the specific disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) and the Prize in Economics, which is commonly identified with them, are widely regarded as the most prestigious award one can receive in those fields.[1] The Nobel Peace Prize conveys social prestige and is often politically controversial. With the exception of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economics are presented in Stockholm, Sweden, at the annual Prize Award Ceremony on the 10th of December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. The recipients' lectures are presented in the days prior to the award ceremony.[2] The Nobel Peace Prize and its recipients' lectures are presented at the annual Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, also on the 10th of December. The reason why Norway distributes a part of the prize is that at the time of Alfred Nobel's death, Norway and Sweden were joined together in a personal union known as the Swedish-Norwegian Union.[3][4] The award ceremonies and the associated banquets are nowadays major international events.[2] Five Nobel Prizes were instituted by the final will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and industrialist, who was the inventor of the high explosive dynamite. Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime; the last was written a little over a year before he died, and signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on 27 November 1895. Wishing to atone for the evil done with dynamite, Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets, 31&_160;million Swedish Kronor, to establish and endow the five Nobel Prizes.[5] (As of 2008 that equates to 186 million US dollars.) 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.
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