Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden to a family of engineers. His family was descended from Olof Rudbeck, the best-known technical genius of Sweden's 17th century era as a great power in northern Europe. At age 9, he moved with his family to Russia where he and his brothers were given first class education in the humanities and natural sciences by private teachers.

Nobel invented dynamite in 1866 and later built up companies and laboratories in more than 20 countries all over the world. A holder of more than 350 patents, he also wrote poetry and drama and even seriously considered becoming a writer.

The idea of giving away his fortune was no passing fancy for Nobel. Efforts to promote peace were close to his heart and he derived intellectual pleasure from literature, while science built the foundation for his own activities as a technological researcher and inventor.

On November 27, 1895, Nobel signed his final will and testament at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris. He died of a heart attack in his home in San Remo, Italy on December 10, 1896.