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| Wednesday, 15 October 2003 |
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Alfred Nobel and the Norwegian Institute for Peace The City of Oslo perhaps the most peaceful capital in the world is the birth place of the Institute known to be the symbol of peace, Alfred Nobel Norwegian Institute for peace. I had a glimpse of this famous building in my recent visit to Norway, which situated by the side of the Royal Palace compound on top of the Karl Johan street passing the Norwegian Foreign Ministry in Central Oslo, browsed the History of Nobel Peace Institute and the Biography of Philanthropist Alfred Nobel.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute was established in 1904, and moved into its present building in 1905. The building, which was built in 1867, is a classic mansion house. It was bought in 1903 from consul Christian Christophersen, a prominent figure in the booming business life of Kristiania (the name of the Norwegian capital until 1924) in the 1890s. A private house consisting of two separate apartments, it had to be totally renovated inside before the Institute could start using it by Norwegian standards in 1905. The principal duty of the Nobel Institute is to assist the Nobel Committee in the task of selecting the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and to organize the annual Nobel events in Oslo. In order to serve as a centre of knowledge related to peace and international affairs in general, the Institute has built up an 181,000-volume library. The literature that is available at the Nobel Institute Library is mainly dedicated to international relations. The library is open to the public. Institute arranges meetings, seminars and lectures in addition to holding so-called Nobel Symposia, exchanges of views and information. It invites distinguished specialists from many countries. The "Will" of Alfred Nobel paved the way to this prestigious award of peace. Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden on 21st October 1833. When he was eight, the family moved to Russia, where his father opened a mechanical engineering workshop. His interest in science, especially chemistry, appeared at an early age; in due course he also acquired extensive literary and philosophical knowledge, and he mastered foreign languages. He did most of his studying on his own, never taking any college or university examination. He returned to Sweden in 1863 and began work as a chemist at his father's workshop at Heleneborg in Stockholm. Applying the Italian Sobrero's methods, he succeeded in further developing the explosive nitro-glycerine, which he began manufacturing in Sweden in 1864. His chemical Plants subsequently opened in Germany and Norway, and then in other European countries and America. In 1867, Nobel obtained a patent on a special type of nitro-glycerine, which he called "dynamite". The invention quickly proved its usefulness in building and construction in many countries. Production went hand-in-hand with research, energetically carried out at laboratories Nobel established in Stockholm and Hamburg and later also in Paris, Bofors, and in San Remo. The original form of dynamite was gradually replaced by gelatin dynamite, which was safer to handle. In that development too, Nobel played a major part. Alfred Nobel wound up with a total of 355 patents, some more imaginative than useful, others both extremely practicable and valuable. He went on experimenting in pursuit of inventions in many fields, notably with synthetic materials. Income from the many enterprises all over the world in which he had interests made him one of the wealthiest men in Europe. Nobel took a keen interest in social questions, and is known to have held radical views on many contemporary problems. His scientific and industrial activities took him to most European and American countries. He lived in Paris for a number of years, but planned to return to Sweden and settle down for good at Karlskoga, where he owned property. On 10th December 1896, before the plans could be realised, he died at his home in San Remo in Italy. Alfred Nobel was a lonely man and was often in poor health. He was very modest, often appearing shy to other people. Above all, he was engrossed in scientific ideas and in the practical management of his many European enterprises, and devoted himself night and day to his studies and work. His dream was to be of service to mankind. In January 1897 it was learned that he had left the bulk of his considerable estate to a fund, the interest on which was to be awarded annually to the persons whose work had been of the greatest benefit to mankind. The statutes of the foundation which administered the fund - the Nobel Foundation - were adopted on 29th June 1900. - Ravindra Seneviratne |
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