The official website of the Nobel Prize

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

“To this undaunted champion of peace …”

“To this undaunted champion of peace the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament has awarded the Peace Prize for the year 1964”.

Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent campaign against racism.

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“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it”

Read Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Prize lecture.

“Peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold”

Martin Luther King Jr. held his acceptance speech in the auditorium of the University of Oslo in Norway on 10 December 1964.

Martin Luther King Jr. giving his acceptance speech

Who nominated Martin Luther King Jr. for a Nobel Prize?

The first nomination arrived to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in January 1963. Not until 2014, the nominators were revealed.

Nobel Prize lessons

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement

Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and work are a fascinating part of an important stage of 20th-century history. His ideas extend far beyond his own time and the society in which he lived. Discrimination and conflicts because of skin colour or ethnicity manifest themselves in a variety of contexts in our own world.

Check out this Nobel Prize lesson – ready to use in the classroom.

Martin Luther King Jr. marching in Selma — Martin Luther King Jr. marching past Browns Chapel in Selma, Alabama.

Photo © Flip Schulke/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Watch the documentary series

Five documentaries inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize

A team of female Yazidi deminers in Iraq attempting to clear their land of mines left behind by ISIS. A team of scientists on an extraordinary mission in Mozambique to help better our understanding of climate change. A man building prosthetic legs to help victims of war walk again in South Sudan … All are inspired by Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

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Mahatma Gandhi – the missing laureate

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) has become the strongest symbol of non-violence in the 20th century. It is widely held – in retrospect – that the Indian national leader should have been selected for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was nominated several times, but was never awarded the prize. Why?

Mahatma Gandhi laughing.

Photo: Public domain.

Questions and answers

Nomination FAQ

Hundreds or thousands of nominations are received every year from members of academies, university professors, scientists, previous Nobel Prize laureates, members of parliamentary assemblies and more.  

Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about nominations in the FAQ.

Nobel Prizes 2023

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023

Electrons in pulses of light

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.”

Illustration of two electrons, illustrating the Nobel Prize in Physics 2023. — © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023

They added colour to nanotechnology

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexey Yekimov “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.”

An illustration of a bucket of paint with coloured balls beneath it, representing quantum dots. — © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023

Vaccine development

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.”

A blue background with COVID-19 virus and a yellow strand of modified mRNA. Also shown is the chemical structure of pseudouridine, an RNA base that was important in the prize-awarded discovery. The graphic represents the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Katalin Karinkó and Drew Weissman who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. — © The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023

Stories depicting strong emotions that many can relate to

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 was awarded to Jon Fosse, “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.”

The Nobel Peace Prize 2023

A courageous fight for human rights, freedom, and democracy in Iran

The Nobel Peace Prize 2023 was awarded to Narges Mohammadi “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.”

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023

History helps us understand gender differences in the labour market

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023 was awarded to Claudia Goldin “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.”

A detective investigating a file cabinet, accompanied by a golden retriever. — © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

2023 Nobel Prizes

Crash course – 2023 Nobel Prizes

How much do you know about the discoveries awarded the 2023 Nobel Prizes? Take our one-minute crash course on each of the prizes and find out how each have changed our world.

Alfred Nobel – Established the Nobel Prize

Alfred Nobel’s last will

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 …

The very first Nobel Prizes

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.

The first Nobel Prize Award Ceremony was held in 1901 at the Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm.

Alfred Nobel ‒ scientist and inventor

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.

A bust of Alfred Nobel, surrounded by a beautiful wall of flowers

Play a game!

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1930

The Blood Typing Game

How much do you know about blood types? Did you know that human blood groups were discovered by Nobel Prize laureate Karl Landsteiner in 1901?

Learn more about the way to find out about the human blood groups, blood typing and the importance of safe blood transfusions. See if you can save the lives of the patients in the game!

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904

Pavlov’s Dog

Is it possible to train a dog to drool on command? Learn about conditioned reflexes in this interactive game!

With this animated game, teachers are able to illustrate classical conditioning in the classroom. The object of the game is to train Pavlov’s dog to respond to a signal that it will associate with being fed.

In 1904, Ivan Pavlov was awarded with Nobel Prize for his pioneering studies of how the digestive system works.

New game

Peace Builders

Step into the shoes of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and learn about the legacy of Alfred Nobel in this immersive learning experience from the Nobel Peace Center. All Minecraft players can now journey alongside Desmond Tutu, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jody Williams and Carl von Ossietzky to bring their vision of a more democratic, peaceful world to life.

Play a game!

The Red Cross Movement

The Prisoners of War Game

Can people behave as they like during times of war? No, they can’t. In this game, your mission as a camp commander is to run a prisoner of war camp without violating any human rights. You must follow the humanitarian standards outlined in the Third Geneva Convention. Have a try!

Try a puzzle

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019

What did they discover?

The discovery of the 2019 chemistry laureates have a huge everyday impact for us. But what did they discover?

Try the puzzle and find out

Nobel destinations

Stockholm, Sweden

Nobel Prize Museum

The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, illustrates a century of creativity, where visitors can follow the changes of the 20th century through the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Prize laureates.

The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World (3) — The museum showcases the discoveries and creativity of the Nobel Prize laureates.

Photo: Åke Eson Lindman

Oslo, Norway

Nobel Peace Center

Located in the heart of Oslo, Norway, the Nobel Peace Center is a place where you can experience and learn about the various Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

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