Nobel Prize

by Olav Njølstad Research Director, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, 1999 – Since the end of the Cold War, many surprising facts and well-kept secrets about the policy-making in the former Soviet Union have been disclosed through the release of newly declassified documents. In more ways than one, this new openness has added to our knowledge…

by Bo Svensén* Organisation of work Once the of the Nobel Foundation had been ratified in June 1900, the Swedish Academy immediately set to work on the preparations required to enable the award of the first Nobel Prize in 1901. A Nobel Committee consisting of five members of the Academy was established in October 1900.…

by Judith Goodstein California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology is a small, independent university of research and teaching in science and engineering, with 900 Ph.D. level researchers, including almost 300 regular faculty, 900 undergraduates, and 1,000 graduate students. In spite of its small size, it has become one of the world’s leading…

Short biography Kostøl, Esther Marie 1936 – Trade union leader and politician Labour Esther Kostøl worked for the Norwegian Civil Servants’ Association (Norsk Tjenestemannslag) in 1977 and in the period 1978-1985, she worked for the Civil Servants’ Cartel (Statstjenestemannskartellet). She was Secretary of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions in 1985-1989, its Deputy Chairman in…

by Frank Fenner and Suzanne Cory Medical research in Australia in the early 20th century Although politically independent since 1901, in the 1920s Australia was still culturally, scientifically and industrially a dependency of the United Kingdom. The total population then was some 7 million and there were three medical schools, in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.…

Short biography Horst, Hans Jacob 1848 – 1931 Educationist and politician Liberal Hans Jacob Horst received his M.A. (Cand. Philol.) in 1874. He first became a teacher and later, Headmaster. From 1881 he was engaged in ‘The Liberal Union’ (Venstreforeningen) and ‘The Workers’ Union’ (Arbeiderforeningen) in Tromsø. He soon became engaged in the local government…

Short biography Nordli, Odvar 1927 – 2018 Auditor and politician Labour Odvar, Nordli worked as an auditor in Hedmark county (fylke) in 1949-1957 and District Auditor from 1957. He became engaged in politics as a young man and was elected chairman of the regional branch of the Labour Party’s youth organisation in 1951-1961. Nordli was…

by 1962 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Haphazard growth On a summer day in the late fifties a delegation from the Soviet Union appeared in Cambridge demanding to see the “Institute of Molecular Biology”. When I took them to our shabby prefabricated hut in front of the University Physics Department, called Cavendish Laboratory after its nineteenth…

Frederick Grinnell UT Southwestern Medical Center In early 1985, when philanthropist Ralph Rogers spoke with Texas billionaire Ross Perot to ask for a “considerable” amount of money for UT Southwestern Medical School, he anticipated no great difficulty. Rogers, who recently had led the $80 million campaign to modernize Parkland Memorial Hospital, was friends with Perot…

Short biography Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne Martinus 1832 – 1910 Dramatist, author, poet, prominent Norwegian patriot Liberal Bjørnson finished Upper Secondary School in 1852 and then became a journalist. He wrote literary reviews and short stories. In 1857 he made his literary debut with the peasant tale Synnøve Solbakken. He was instructor and artistic leader at the…