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  • Stockholm, Sweden
    Monday Oct 21, 1833

    Birth

    Stockholm, Sweden
    Monday Oct 21, 1833

    Born in Stockholm, Alfred Nobel was the third son of Immanuel Nobel (1801–1872), an inventor and engineer, and Carolina Andriette (Ahlsell) Nobel (1805–1889).




  • Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
    1837

    Nobel's father moved to Saint Petersburg

    Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
    1837

    Nobel's father moved to Saint Petersburg in 1837 and grew successful there as a manufacturer of machine tools and explosives. He invented veneer lathe and started work on the torpedo.




  • Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
    1842

    The Family moved to Saint Petersburg

    Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
    1842

    In 1842, the family joined him in the city. Now prosperous, his parents were able to send Nobel to private tutors and the boy excelled in his studies, particularly in chemistry and languages, achieving fluency in English, French, German and Russian.




  • Paris, France
    Tuesday Jan 1, 1850

    To Paris to further the work

    Paris, France
    Tuesday Jan 1, 1850

    As a young man, Nobel studied with chemist Nikolai Zinin; then, in 1850, went to Paris to further the work.




  • U.S.
    Wednesday Jan 1, 1851

    to United States

    U.S.
    Wednesday Jan 1, 1851

    At age 18, he went to the United States for one year to study, working for a short period under Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson, who designed the American Civil War ironclad USS Monitor.




  • U.S.
    1857

    First patent

    U.S.
    1857

    Nobel filed his first patent, an English patent for a gas meter, in 1857.




  • Sweden
    1863

    Nobel invented a detonator

    Sweden
    1863

    Nobel invented a detonator in 1863.


  • Sweden
    1863

    First Swedish patent

    Sweden
    1863

    Nobel filed his first Swedish patent, which he received in 1863, was on 'ways to prepare gunpowder'.


  • Stockholm, Sweden
    Saturday Sep 3, 1864

    Shed used for preparation of nitroglycerin exploded at the factory

    Stockholm, Sweden
    Saturday Sep 3, 1864

    On 3 September 1864, a shed used for preparation of nitroglycerin exploded at the factory in Heleneborg, Stockholm, killing five people, including Nobel's younger brother Emil.


  • Sweden
    1865

    Designed the blasting cap

    Sweden
    1865

    Nobel in 1865 designed the blasting cap.


  • Sweden
    Tuesday Jan 1, 1867

    Nobel invented dynamite in 1867

    Sweden
    Tuesday Jan 1, 1867

    Nobel invented dynamite in 1867, a substance easier and safer to handle than the more unstable nitroglycerin.


  • Sweden
    Friday Jan 1, 1875

    Nobel invented gelignite

    Sweden
    Friday Jan 1, 1875

    In 1875 Nobel invented gelignite, more stable and powerful than dynamite.


  • Stockholm, Sweden
    1884

    Nobel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

    Stockholm, Sweden
    1884

    Nobel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1884, the same institution that would later select laureates for two of the Nobel prizes.


  • Sweden
    1887

    Nobel patented ballistite

    Sweden
    1887

    In 1887, Nobel patented ballistite, a predecessor of cordite.


  • Sanremo, Italy
    1891

    to Italy

    Sanremo, Italy
    1891

    Accused of “high treason against France” for selling Ballistite to Italy, Nobel moved from Paris to Sanremo, Italy in 1891.


  • Sweden
    1893

    Nobel received an honorary doctorate

    Sweden
    1893

    Nobel received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in 1893.


  • Paris, France
    Wednesday Nov 27, 1895

    Nobel signed his last will

    Paris, France
    Wednesday Nov 27, 1895

    On 27 November 1895, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality.


  • Sanremo, Italy
    Thursday Dec 10, 1896

    Death

    Sanremo, Italy
    Thursday Dec 10, 1896

    On December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel succumbed to a lingering heart ailment, suffered a stroke, and died.


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