Alfred Nobel

We can never be sure what life is going to deal us and at times, it may offer us opportunities in rather strange ways. Alfred Noble is one of those men who had an opportunity put in front of him, ultimately as a result of misfortune that fell upon his father. This gave rise to one of the most important Alfred Noble inventions, one that is even used down to this very day.

Alfred Noble was born in Stockholm Sweden in 1833. His father was a very successful contractor and businessman up until that point but in the same year that Alfred was born, he was forced into bankruptcy because of losing several barges of building material. This forced him to move from Stockholm into Russia, where he became a successful businessman who was making explosives for the Russian military. As a matter of fact, Alfred Noble's father was one of the key individuals who convinced the Tsar that naval mines could be used in order to protect the city from invading naval forces.

Eventually, he brought his family to Russia to live with him. This is where the history of Alfred Noble inventions really begins. Since his father was involved in making explosives for the military, he became keenly interested in mass-producing nitroglycerin and finding a way to develop this highly volatile explosive safely. Eventually, however, the war that Russia was involved in at the time ended and his father was once again forced into bankruptcy, sending Alfred Noble back to Stockholm to rebuild a business. He did this using nitroglycerin but several unfortunate accidents, one of which took his brother's life eventually lead to his business being banned from within the city limits.

After finding a way to mix the nitroglycerin with some organic compounds, one of the greatest Alfred Noble inventions was born. After being mixed with the other compounds, the nitroglycerin was a lot safer to work with and was able to be formed into two which could easily be inserted into drill holes. This invention came to be known as dynamite. He also invented what is now known as a blasting cap which is what causes the dynamite to explode. Another of the Alfred Noble inventions that is noteworthy is that of ballistite, a type of smokeless gunpowder.

Perhaps one of the things which this man is most noted for, however, does not really fall under one of the Alfred Noble inventions. Upon his death, his will stipulated that his $9 million estate was to be used to fund annual prizes for such areas as literature, psychology and world peace. This is what is commonly known as the Nobel Prize.