Hero Nobel will quote

Nobel Peace Prize awarded work

Nobel Peace Prize 1917, 1944 and 1963

Triple Nobel Peace Prizes

The International Committee of the Red Cross has a unique position in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize: no recipient has been awarded the Peace Prize as often as this organisation. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated annually on the birthday of Henry Dunant, the founder of the organisation, but it all began in Solferino 1859 …

Red Cross - Armband

Armlet for the Red Cross.

Photo: Nobel Prize Museum

Nobel Peace Prize 1901

Henry Dunant – a man with a great vision

The first Nobel Peace Prize ever was awarded half to Henry Dunant and half to Frédéric Passy for their peace work. Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross, was born into a wealthy home, but he died alone in a hospice. He never ceased to work for peace and against the taking up of arms.

Henry Dunant

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

All Nobel Peace Prizes and laureates

Peace was the fifth and final prize area that Alfred Nobel outlined in his will.


See all Nobel Peace Prize laureates and why they were awarded the prize.

Kofi Annan receiving his Nobel Peace Prize

Kofi Annan receiving his Nobel Peace Prize from Gunnar Berge, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

© Pressens Bild AB 2001.

Featured Nobel Peace Prize laureates

Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Malala Yousafzai

Already at eleven years of age Malala Yousafzai fought for girls’ right to education. After having suffered an attack on her life by Taliban gunmen in 2012, she has continued her struggle and become a leading advocate of girls’ rights.
Malala Yousafzai

Photo: K. Opprann

Nobel Peace Prize 2004

Wangari Maathai

In 1977 Wangari Maathai started a grass-roots movement aimed at countering the deforestation that was threatening Kenya. Her Green Belt Movement spread to other African countries and contributed to the planting of over fifty million trees.
Wangari Muta Maathai

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Nobel Peace Prize 1989

Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama consistently has opposed the use of violence in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people.
The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Nobel Peace Prize 1922

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen was a scientist, polar hero, political activist and diplomat who worked on behalf of starving people, refugees and displaced victims of war. In 1922 he became the first High Commissioner for Refugees.
Fridtjof Nansen

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Who did what?

Truth, Trust and Hope

Nobel Prize Summit 2023

Join this years’ Nobel Prize Summit

We live in a world of interconnected crises: emerging pandemics and health emergencies, inflationary and monetary pressures, war, climate change and increased stresses on society and the environment. The volume, velocity and reach of disinformation in today’s world weaken public deliberation and undermine trust in scientists, the institutions and governments they serve – and democracy itself.

Join the Nobel Foundation and U.S. National Academy of Sciences online or in-person for the Nobel Prize Summit: Truth, Trust and Hope from 24-26 May 2023. Registration is now open.
Nobel Prize Summit
Nobel Prize Summit 2023

"We need to do something"

Watch philosopher Åsa Wikforss speaking about why you should join in the important discussions and ‘experiments’ at this year’s Nobel Prize Summit: Truth Trust and Hope.

Recently published

Podcast series

Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022

Douglas Diamond: Nobel Prize Conversations

“I think economics is getting closer and closer to being a respectable science. Even when we were not the most respectable science, we still needed to keep pushing forward because the topic actually matters to the planet, to the humans on the planet, and to the animals on the planet.” Douglas Diamond is a strong advocate for economics as a scientific field. His passion for economics was sparked at a young age when he accidentally took an undergraduate course in the topic.

Listen to Douglas Diamond in this new podcast conversation.
Illustration with a photo of Douglas Diamond

Photo: Stefan Bladh.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022

Morten Meldal: Nobel Prize Conversations

“My daughter was sitting on the second or third row and I could see that she was crying. And tears actually are contagious. So I was almost crying when I had to go up and receive the prize because of that.” – This is how Morten Meldal recalled the moment he crossed the stage in Stockholm to receive his Nobel Prize medal.

2022 chemistry laureate Morten Meldal also talks about his interests outside science, such as painting, books, music, and even building his own guitars.
Morten Meldal in the laboratory

Morten Meldal at the University of Copenhagen laboratory.

Photo: University of Copenhagen

Enjoy some poetry

Nobel Prize in Literature 2020

"The great thing is not having a mind …"

Literature laureate Louise Glück reads her poem ‘The Red Poppy’ from her book The Wild Iris. Glück was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.”

Read more poems by Louise Glück
‘The Red Poppy’ from THE WILD IRIS by Louise Glück
Copyright © 1992, Louise Glück. All rights reserved.

Nobel Prizes 2022

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022

Sequencing the genome of the Neanderthal

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 was awarded to Svante Pääbo “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.”
Denisova, Neanderthal and H. sapiens

© The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2022

Exploring the role of memory in our lives

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2022 was awarded to Annie Ernaux “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.”
Annie Ernaux.jpg

Credit: Annie Ernaux/ Photo: Catherine Hélie, Gallimard.

Nobel Peace Prize

News

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.

Into the fire - image

Nobel Prize nominations

2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominations

The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 305 candidates for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. 93 of these are organisations.

Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony 2021.

Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony 2021 in the Oslo City Hall in Norway.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Geir Anders Rybakken Ørslien.

Are the nominations made public?

Did you know that there is no public list of the current year’s nominees for the peace prize? The complete list of nominees of any year’s prizes is not disclosed for 50 years. The same goes for all the prize categories. Learn more about the nomination process in a this Q&A.

Peace Prize nomination process

The nomination process for Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

© Nobel Media. Ill. Niklas Elmehed

Questions and answers

What are the Nobel Prize categories?

The Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace and were laid out in the will of Alfred Nobel. Find out more in the FAQ.
The Nobel Prize medal.

The Nobel Prize medal.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

Discover Nobel Prize lessons

Reliable and easy to use

Bring the 2022 Nobel Prizes into the classroom! The lessons are free and easy to use right away with ready-made slide shows, a speaker’s manuscripts and student assignments.

The 2022 prizes range from research on quantum mechanics and research on human evolution to documenting war crimes and the role of banks in financial crises.
2022 Nobel Prizes

Illustrations: Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén and Niklas Elmehed. © Nobel Prize Outreach

Explore prizes and laureates

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 …

Alfred Nobel Will

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.

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!
Blood typing 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.
Pavlov's Dog Game

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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.
NPC Nye Nobels Hage 10

The story of each peace laureate is told at the museum.

Photo: Johannes Granseth/Nobel Peace Center

In memoriam

Kenzaburo Oe passes away at 88

Japanese author Kenzaburo Oe passed away on 3 March 2023. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 1994 with the motivation “who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today.”
Kenzaburo Oe

Physicist K. Alex Müller dies

K. Alexander Müller was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1987 for the discovery of new superconducting materials He passed away on 9 January, age 95.

K. Alexander Müller

Edward C. Prescott 1940‒2022

Edward C. Prescott passed away on 6 November 2022, age 81. He was awarded the 2004 prize in economic sciences for his contributions to dynamic macroeconomics. The work influenced the monetary and fiscal policies of governments and laid the basis for the increased independence of many central banks.
Edward C. Prescott