INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN
Literary mastery, pioneering science, life-saving discoveries and actions for peace and human rights - achievements of women around the world awarded the Nobel Prize.
Explore and learn
Marie Curie harnessed the promise of radioactivity. Rita Levi-Montalcini redefined how our bodies work. Tu Youyou’s breakthrough malaria treatment saved the lives of millions around the world. Women who changed science celebrates and explores the lives of the remarkable women who have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their scientific achievements.
Nobel Prize nominations
The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 318 candidates for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. 107 of these are organizations.
Olav Njølstad, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, answers questions about the Nobel Peace Prize.
No person can nominate herself/himself for a Nobel Prize. But who can? And how are these persons chosen?
In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established.
Interview with Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee
Volunteer, travel, form your own conclusions
Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo were awarded the 2019 Prize in Economic Sciences for their work fighting poverty. Hear their advice for others that want to follow in their footsteps.
Ask a Nobel Laureate: Sustainability Edition
You asked – he answers!
What did Nobel Laureate Steven Chu say when we asked your questions on sustainability and climate change?
Find out by watching the Q&A with Chu. He has devoted a large part of his scientific career to searching for solutions to our climate challenges.
Steven Chu was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1997
Nobel Prize Conversations
Listen to Paul Romer
Protecting the ship, building relationships and organising surprise weddings – in this week’s episode, Economic Sciences laureate Paul Romer discusses everything from the special moment he experienced just hours before collecting his prize to the importance of unity, purpose and inclusion.
Romer shared the 2018 Prize in Economic Sciences with William D. Nordhaus for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.
More conversations
Nobel Minds 2019
Nobel Laureates in discussion
The 2019 Nobel Laureates met at the old Stockholm Stock Exchange Building (Börshuset) in Gamla stan, Stockholm for the traditional round-table discussion and TV program 'Nobel Minds'. The laureates talked about their research, what drives them and their visions for the future. The discussion was hosted by the BBC's Zeinab Badawi.
A new house for culture and science
The new center will be built at Slussen, with sweeping views of Stockholm harbour and the central city. For the past few years, Slussen has been undergoing a major renovation and reconfiguration. With its broad public activities, the Nobel Center will be an important piece of the puzzle in developing Slussen into a lively meeting place.
Slussen aerial
Image: Dbox/Foster and partner.
Nobel Prizes 2019
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded with one half to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology” and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.”
© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 was awarded jointly to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.”
© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019 was awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.”
© The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 is awarded to the Polish author Olga Tokarczuk “for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.”
Ill. Niklas Elmehed. © Nobel Media.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 was awarded to Peter Handke “for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience.”
Ill. Niklas Elmehed. © Nobel Media.
The Nobel Peace Prize 2019 was awarded to Abiy Ahmed Ali “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.”
Abiy Ahmed Ali.
Photo: Aron Simeneh, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 was awarded jointly to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”
© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Alfred Nobel - Established the Nobel Prize
On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will in Paris, France. The Swedish dynamite millionaire, who thought that his invention would end all wars, had now realised that it was a very deadly product. Wanting to make amends, he did what no man of such wealth had done before ...
On 10 December 1901 the first Nobel Prizes were awarded, in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. Read more about the first prizes.
Chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today about 265 million dollar) to fund the Nobel Prizes. Read more about his life and work.
'Lost and Found'
Watch the new documentary ‘Lost and Found’
The film follows Kamal Hussein, a Rohingya refugee in the world’s largest refugee camp who has dedicated his life to reuniting children with their parents, with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This National Geographic Documentary Film is the result of a partnership between the Nobel Prize and Academy Award-winning director Orlando von Einsiedel (‘The White Helmets’).
The video is available all over the world, apart from in the following countries: Spain, Australia, India, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, South Sudan, Tunisia, Mauritania, all of the Middle East.
What are you looking for? Search the website.
Nobel destinations
Stockholm, Sweden
The museum showcases the discoveries and creativity of the Nobel Laureates.
Photo: Åke Eson Lindman
Oslo, Norway
The story of each Peace Laureate is told at the museum.
Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center
In memoriam
Medicine Laureate Stanley Cohen passed away on 5 February. He shared the 1986 Medicine Prize for "discoveries of growth factors", discoveries which are of fundamental importance for our understanding of the mechanisms which regulate cell and organ growth.
Kary B. Mullis was awarded the 1993 Chemistry Prize for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. PCR has been of major importance in both medical research and forensic science.
Novelist and 1993 Literature Laureate Toni Morrison has passed away aged 88. Morrison's works revolve around African-Americans; both their history and their situation in our own time.
Physics Laureate Robert Schrieffer, awarded for the theoretical explanation of the phenomenon of superconductivity, passed away on 27 July, age 88.
