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Alfred Nobel’s Factory at Vinterviken
The factory at Vinterviken was destroyed more than once by terrible explosions. Sketch by R. Haglund.
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The Sulfuric Acid Factory
The sulfuric acid factory before it was renovated. Copyright © Nitro Nobel Workers outside the factory. Copyright © Nitro Nobel The sulfuric acid factory. Drawing by Olle Rydberg Copyright © Nitro Nobel
moreAndriette Nobel
(1805-1889) Mother of Alfred (1833-1896), Robert (1829-1896), Ludvig (1831-1888), Emil (1843-1864) and two children who died as infants. Andriette Nobel (maiden name Ahlsell) was a gifted woman, daughter of an accountant. In 1827 she married Immanuel Nobel and for a couple of years the two lived in Stockholm under reasonable economic conditions. In 1833 Immanuel…
moreNitroglycerine and Dynamite
Nitroglycerine is an explosive liquid which was first made by Ascanio Sobrero in 1846 by treating glycerol with a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acid. The reaction which follows is highly exothermic, i.e. it generates heat and will result in an explosion of nitroglycerine, unless the mixture is cooled while the reaction is taking place.…
moreAscanio Sobrero
(1812-1888) Ascanio Sobrero Italian chemist who discovered nitroglycerine. Ascanio Sobrero worked as an assistant to Professor J. T. Pelouze in Paris and then became professor of chemistry in Turino, Italy. His face was badly scarred as a result of an explosion in the 1840s. He considered nitroglycerine to be far too dangerous to be of…
moreBertha von Suttner
(1843-1914) Bertha von Suttner Bertha von Suttner (née Countess Bertha Kinsky) was an Austrian noble woman, author and peace activist. She came to work as a secretary for Alfred Nobel in Paris in 1876. After only a couple of months she left her job and returned to Vienna to get married. Bertha von Suttner maintained…
moreRobert and Ludvig Nobel and the Oil Industry in Russia
Immanuel and Andrietta Nobel had six children. Four of them survived childhood: Robert (1829-1896), Ludvig (1831-1888), Alfred (1833-1896), and Emil (1843-1864). Two died as infants. Emil, who like his brothers Robert and Ludvig worked for the family business, was killed in a tragic explosion which occurred in Heleneborg, Stockholm on September 3, 1864. Robert Nobel…
moreKieselguhr
Kieselguhr, a diatomaceous earth (diatomite) is a form of silica composed of the siliceous shells of unicellular aquatic plants of microscopic size. Kieselguhr is heat resistant and has been used as an insulator, as a component in toothpaste and as an abrasive in metal polishes. In the chemical industry, it is also used as a…
morePaul Barbe – Alfred Nobel’s Partner in France
Paul François Barbe became Alfred Nobel’s French partner for many years. As early as 1868, Nobel went into partnership with Barbe for the exploitation of dynamite in France. In 1870, under Barbe’s forceful management, the manufacture of dynamite began in Paulille near the Spanish border, an isolated spot chosen for security reasons. Barbe’s skill in…
moreKrümmel in Pictures
The manager’s house in 1880. Alfred Nobel also stayed here during his visits. View of the Nobel site and the river Elbe around 1880. The Nobel site around 1905. Entrance to the factory around 1908. The manager’s house is seen to the right. Loading of powder at Krümmel in 1915.
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