In this article, we will discuss the history of Alfred Nobel and his invention of Dynamite. Influence of Bertha Von Suttner in his life. Alfred’s journey from the merchant of death to become the champion of peace.
Early life of Alfred Nobel:-
Stockholm was a place where he was born on October 21, 1833. The name of his father was Immanuel Nobel who was an engineer as well as an inventor whose work was to build bridges and buildings in Stockholm. Regarding the nature of his job Immanuel Nobel had tried using diverse techniques for blasting rocks. Alfred’s mother’s name was Andriette Ahlsell who came from a notable and wealthy family.
Invention of Dynamite:-
Alfred Nobel was the inventor of almost 355 inventions, but his most important invention was dynamite which was very effective in killing the maximum people in minimum time. In the 1860’s he was doing a series of experiments in Sweden, during these experiments he invented a dynamite, which was basically a mixture of nitroglycerine and kieselguhr. By his newly created invention, he added an easily usable and a powerful weapon in the human’s armory.
He additionally expanded and establishing oil fields in the southern area of Italy and together with the money made from his armaments organization, he has successfully created a huge fortune. In the age of war and destruction, he believed that the war could be stopped if such a weapon could have built which made the war impossible.
Entry of Bertha Von Suttner in the life of Alfred Nobel:-
In the year of 1876, an ad was published in a Viennese newspaper. “A wealthy, cultured, gentleman, desires to find a lady of mature age, which should be familiar with different languages, as secretary and manager of his household.”
That gentleman was actually Alfred Nobel, the man which earns millions from his dynamite and the person that is going to answer this advertisement was going to become the distinguished peace activist and one of the most renowned females in his time. That woman’s name was Bertha Von Suttner, who was the one which influenced him to establish the Nobel price.
Bertha is undoubtedly well certified, she was proficient and smart, understands British, French and German. She was a very attractive woman. In the city of Paris, she locates her employer which was not too old, almost forty-three, as well as the active head of the international community of dynamite production facilities. He was a Swede, but a genuine cosmopolitan, usually traveling, but today settling in Paris having a residence and laboratory within the Avenue de Malakoff.
When twenty years had passed, Bertha wrote Alfred Nobel about the first impression of their very first meeting. She wrote “A thinker, a poet, a man bitter, unhappy and light-hearted given to superb flights of mind and to malicious suspicions, so you seemed to me. And twenty years have done nothing to change that image.”
Because her room on the Avenue de Malakoff was not prepared, Therefore Nobel spends a lot of time showing that woman the city with his fresh conceived rubber-wheeled coach. They were an excellent conversationalist, and they had shared a very nice moment together.
They are thrilled through the wonderful moments and might well charm thought processes of the much more exalted for her that would finish his loneliness. Alfred asked are you facing any problem, she told the whole story to him and he advises her forget Arthur and eliminate all the correspondence with him.
Our story would have ended with Bertha’s departure from the city named London, however, she and her lover maintains messages with Nobel in the Caucasus and sends him replicates regarding Bertha’s publications because Arthur and Bertha turn out to be established freelance writers for 9 years during their exile. Once they returned Vienna, lastly understood by Arthur’s mom and dad, her royalties permit those to journey to London, in which they are both warmly received by Nobel.
The journey features a different consequence. In the Caucasus, a long time Bertha and Arthur have understood voraciously and become social critics and competitors against the war. During the time of 1887 in London Bertha very first time hears that there is really something as a peace movement, attempting to end the war, therefore she brought her literary and intellectual talents to work whose results are very effective.
The result is the famous novel “Lay Down Your Arms” which was published in 1889. This novel was based on a story of a woman which was suffering from great tragedies again and again due to the wars in the middle of the 19th century. That book became a very best seller of that time, which was translated in a lot of different languages. Which was even could be compared by Tolstoy to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which helped to eliminate the chains of slavery from the United States.
The publication of that book provides Bertha a chance to participate in the peace movement, which was organizing globally at the beginning 1890s. Bertha writes, talks, organizes peace communities, has a primary role from peace congresses and was thought to be commander and chief of this movement, which was an amazing achievement for any female of that particular time period.
Bertha Von Suttner Influence upon Alfred Nobel:-
The exchange of messages between Bertha and Nobel was continuously carried on in different mediums of languages like English and German, which exhibits a close personalized union and proved to the woman’s influence on Alfred Nobel.
Nobel is almost clearly agreed on worldwide peace. As we know his well-known invention Dynamite, the cornerstone of his great fortune, was created for civilian usages, for example making canals, constructing railroads and exploration. Until the 1880s before he switches his focus on munitions. Nevertheless, he informs her, “Perhaps my very factories will end the war even sooner than your Congresses because a day will come when two army battalions will be able to destroy each other in a second, all civilized nations will be horrified and disband their soldiers.”
He was hesitant towards the propaganda type of peace communities, However, he was ready to be persuaded. “convince me,” he said to Bertha, “and then I will do something great for the movement.” She continuously sends him a lot of information and data about its movement, as a result he responds with generous checks as a gratitude and support of her activities.
He really had developed the thinking of making the use of his funds for the kind of once-a-year awards right after the death of his brother Ludvig in the year of 1888. When a French newspaper had wrongly got the idea about the Alfred Nobel himself dies. The Newspaper had published these sentences under the title: “The merchant of death is dead”, going on to state: “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”
After reading that Newspaper, he had begun to think how he can he improved his image after his death. Due to this, he decided to give up his huge fortune to fund a set of prizes which named after him. The Nobel Prizes had been created to honor the people which have made the greatest contributions to mankind in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Peace.
Alfred journey to becoming the champion of Peace:-
In 1895, he revised his will for the last time. Which was that from this point Alfred gives away all the earnings generated from his real estate shall be helpful to determine this peace award for the people of methodical and literary abilities which have to be shown by Swedish in Stockholm.
In the year of 1896, a year in which he died. He’s sick and his correspondence with Bertha had become fewer. The moment Bertha told him about her concept of the peace prize. She didn’t know that he was actually writing it in his will.
He was clearly expecting that her friend should be the first to get that Nobel Prize. But, unfortunately, she was not the first who got it. After a few years, As Alfred expected, she finally awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in 1905.