Alfred Nobel held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most notable.
In 1888, a French newspaper confused the demise of Alfred Nobel‘s brother with Alfred’s and published, “The merchant of death is dead“.
The premature obituary was in reference to the invention of dynamite and explosives by Alfred Nobel. The episode is said to be one of the key inspirations for the Swedish chemist to leave his wealth for establishing the Nobel Prizes.
Nobel held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most notable. His name also survives in modern-day establishments such as Dynamit Nobel and AkzoNobel, which are descendants of Mergers with companies Nobel himself established.
Alfred Nobel established the five Nobel prizes in 1895. The prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine were first awarded in 1901.
