Alfred Bernhard Nobel was the man whose vision and funds led to the Nobel prizes, arguably the world's most famous and respected awards.
He was a 19th century scientist famous for inventing dynamite as a safer way of using nitroglycerine. It was patented in 1867.
Nobel held 355 patents in his life, but it appears his greatest contribution to science was partly the result of seeing an erroneously published obituary that called him a war profiteer.
Why are the Nobel Prizes named after him?
After seeing the obit — published by mistake when his brother died — he was inspired to create the Nobels and laid out bequests in his will to fund them.
On November 27, 1895, Nobel signed a will that laid out a plan and provided the money to finance the honours. He died the next year.
Nobel left relatives some money but most of it went into creating the awards in physics, chemistry, Physiology or medicine, literature, Economics, and Peace.
He ordered that the remaining estate should be used to endow “prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.
His family initially opposed creating the Nobel Prize, and the prize awarders he named in the will also refused follow requests from Nobel. It was five years before the first Nobel Prize could be awarded in 1901.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
Nobel was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which his will charged with choosing the Nobel laureates in physics and in chemistry.
He was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833, into a family of scientists.
Nobel was fluent in several languages, and wrote poetry and drama.
He travelled for much of his life, maintaining companies in Europe and America while lived in Paris, Hamburg and other places.
In 1894, he bought Bofors-Gullspang, a property that included Bjorkborn Manor, which became his last residence in Sweden.
He would spend summers at Bjorkborn and the manor house is now a museum. On 10 December 1896, he died in Sanremo, Italy.
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NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
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JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
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