In 1888, Alfred Nobel had the unpleasant surprise of reading his own obituary in a French newspaper, entitled ‘The merchant of death is dead’. As the inventor of dynamite and a number of other war-related patents, this title was not without its truth.

The article disconcerted Nobel and caused him great apprehension over how he would be remembered. As a result, Nobel altered his will to specify that his fortune (approximately US$186 million by 2008 figures) be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the “greatest benefit on mankind” in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature, thus establishing the Nobel Prizes.