About the Nobel Prizes
Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award.
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MLA style: "About the Nobel Prizes". Nobelprize.org. 4 Aug 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/
MLA style: "About the Nobel Prizes". Nobelprize.org. 4 Aug 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/
The Nobel Prize Amounts
On 27 November 1895, a year before his death, Alfred Nobel signed the famous will which would implement some of the goals to which he had devoted so much of his life. Nobel stipulated in his will that most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 1,702 million) should be converted into a fund and invested in "safe securities."
The table below shows the Nobel Prize amount in Swedish kronor (SEK) through the years, the monetary value per December 2011 in Swedish kronor (SEK) and the value in % compared to the original amount in 1901.
The Nobel Prize amount for 2012 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 8.0 million per full Nobel Prize.
Table showing Prize Amounts
Pdf 15 kB
The Nobel Diplomas
by Birgitta Lemmel
The festival day of the Nobel Foundation is on the 10th of December, the anniversary of the death of the testator. The Prize Award Ceremony for the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine and Literature as well as for The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel - takes place at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
The prize-awarding bodies decide the design of the diplomas. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for the Physics and Chemistry diplomas, and since 1969 also for the Economics diploma. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet is responsible for the Physiology or Medicine diploma, the Swedish Academy for the Literature diploma and the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the diploma presented to the winners of the Peace Prize. Nowadays, the "Swedish" diplomas have a uniform binding, provided by the bookbindery Fälth & Hässler (earlier Hässlers Bokbinderi). This was not the case initially, since the various prize committees decided the artistic design of the diplomas based on their own wishes and resources. The Refsum bookbinding firm was responsible for binding the "Norwegian" diplomas until 1986, when the bookbinding firm of Kjell-Roger Josefson took over.
The artistic design of the diplomas has varied over the years (see Register of artists and calligraphers), but the text has always followed the same pattern in the Swedish and Norwegian languages, respectively. The "Swedish" diplomas largely carry the same text, stating the person or persons to whom the prize-awarding body has decided to present the year's Prize plus a citation explaining why. The Norwegian diploma, on the other hand, has never included a Prize citation.
The Nobel Diplomas
by Birgitta Lemmel
The festival day of the Nobel Foundation is on the 10th of December, the anniversary of the death of the testator. The Prize Award Ceremony for the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine and Literature as well as for The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel - takes place at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
The prize-awarding bodies decide the design of the diplomas. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for the Physics and Chemistry diplomas, and since 1969 also for the Economics diploma. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet is responsible for the Physiology or Medicine diploma, the Swedish Academy for the Literature diploma and the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the diploma presented to the winners of the Peace Prize. Nowadays, the "Swedish" diplomas have a uniform binding, provided by the bookbindery Fälth & Hässler (earlier Hässlers Bokbinderi). This was not the case initially, since the various prize committees decided the artistic design of the diplomas based on their own wishes and resources. The Refsum bookbinding firm was responsible for binding the "Norwegian" diplomas until 1986, when the bookbinding firm of Kjell-Roger Josefson took over. The artistic design of the diplomas has varied over the years (see Register of artists and calligraphers), but the text has always followed the same pattern in the Swedish and Norwegian languages, respectively. The "Swedish" diplomas largely carry the same text, stating the person or persons to whom the prize-awarding body has decided to present the year's Prize plus a citation explaining why. The Norwegian diploma, on the other hand, has never included a Prize citation. 
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences diplomas have been created by many artists since 1901: Sofia Gisberg (1901-1926); Ella Waldenström, Karin Ageman, Elsa Örtengren-Noréen, Björn Landström and Bertil Kumlien (1927-70); Gunnar Brusewitz (1970-1973); Karl-Axel Pehrson (1974); Tage Hedqvist (1975-1976); Sven Ljungberg (1977-1989); Philip von Schantz (1990-1993); Bengt Landin (1994-1998); and Nils G. Stenqvist (1999-2004). Very often, these diplomas are characterized by an annual theme - birds, flowers, vases etc. - rather than an individual design referring to the Laureates. In 1969, Reinhold Ljunggren created the diplomas for the first Economics Laureate, Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen. Between 1970 and 2004 the Physics, Chemistry and Economic Sciences diplomas were designed by the same artist. In 2004 there was a change. The Chemistry diploma was designed by Ingegerd Möller while Jordi Arkö did the diploma for the Economics Prize. In 2005 Ingegerd Möller did the Physics diplomas, while Jordi Arkö was responsible for Chemistry and Ulla Kraitz for Economics. In 2006 the same artists were engaged for the diplomas but Jordi Arkö was responsible for the Physics diplomas, Ulla Kraitz for Chemistry and Ingegerd Möller for Economics.
During the years 1901-1964, the Physiology or Medicine diplomas were decorated with art works. In the first six years, 1901-1906, these were created by artist and architect Agi Lindegren. During the years 1907-1963, the following artists were responsible for designing the Physiology or Medicine diplomas: Anna Berglund, Ellen Jolin, Brita Ellström, Eivor Fischer, Jerk Werkmäster and Bertha Svensson-Piehl. In 1965, calligrapher Karl-Erik Forsberg designed a new Nobel diploma that excluded art work. Since 1965 the artistic decoration of the Physiology or Medicine diplomas has consisted of a gold medal in relief and a handsome calligraphic text.
The Swedish Academy has always used individual designs related to each Laureate. The artists have tried to summarize something of the atmosphere and character of each author's works. Because the Prize winners are not announced until mid-October and the diplomas must be ready before December 10, the diploma artist has only a few weeks to summarize the collected works or personal attributes of each author. Aside from creating the Physiology or Medicine diplomas, Agi Lindegren also created the Literature diplomas until 1911. During 1912-1918 the Literature diplomas were the work of Olle Hjortzberg, Nils Asplund and Josef Svanlund; and during 1919-1962 of Bertha Svensson (from 1938, Svensson-Piehl), with the exception of the years 1928-1930 when Olle Hjortzberg was the artist. From 1963 to 1988 Gunnar Brusewitz was responsible for the artistic design of the Literature diplomas, between 1989 and 2003 Bo Larsson, and since 2004 Karin Mamma Andersson. Until 1990, the Norwegian diplomas were created according to the same principles: During 1901-1969, a lithograph by Gerhard Munthe and during 1970-1990 a lithograph by Ørnulf Ranheimsaeter. Since 1991, different Norwegian artists have been responsible for the artistic design each year: Karl Erik Harr, Håkon Bleken, Jacob Weidemann, Anne-Lise Knoff, Ørnulf Opdahl, Jens Johannessen, Eva Arnesen, Franz Widerberg, Håvard Vikhagen, Elling Reitan, Håkon Gullvåg, Ulf Valde Jensen, Kari Elisabeth Dahlmo, Halvdan Ljøsne, Trond Botnen and Jarle Rosseland. For some years, well-known calligraphers have hand-lettered the various diplomas (see of artists and calligraphers). The diplomas from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Academy have been hand-lettered by Annika Rücker since 1988 and 1989, respectively, and the Physiology or Medicine diplomas by Susan Duvnäs since 1990. Since 1992, the Norwegian diplomas have been hand-lettered by Inger Magnus. Today each Nobel diploma is a unique work of art. The Literature diploma is written on parchment, i.e. specially treated leather, using largely the same technique as those of medieval book illustrators. The diplomas given to the other Laureates are produced on specially ordered handmade paper.
The Nobel relief on the Physiology or Medicine diploma is made of leather, attached to the diploma. After extensive preparations, the bookbinder then mounts the diploma in a leather cover made of the highest quality goatskin. Nowadays the Physics diplomas are mounted in a blue leather cover, Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine in red, Economic Sciences in brown and Literature in the color that the artist has chosen. In addition, the calligraphers have designed special gold monograms for each of the Laureates on the outside of the diplomas, which are also found on the boxes in which the diplomas rest. These diploma boxes are all made of gray woven paperboard, lined inside with pigskin suede. The size of the Nobel diplomas is 23 x 35 cms. In Birger Christofferson's book Gunnar Brusewitz, the artist provides a description of the diploma he made for Isaac Bashevis Singer (1978): The diploma is dominated by a Star of David, whose six tips point toward characters and events in Singer's books. The pictures in the upper left portion were inspired by "The Magician of Lublin". A parrot appears there, but can also symbolize the bird that flies away with people's sins. Beneath it, a couple of rabbis with a Torah roll and ritual ram's horn. Next to it, Jacob in "The Slave", living in captivity as a cowherd. The bottom portion of the diploma is based on "Satan in Goray", with its wild ecstatic atmosphere in anticipation of Shabbetai Zvi - the false "Messiah." The flower symbolizes the recovery of Goray from devastation. And above it, New York rises as the never-realized paradise for tormented Jews. To the right, the pogroms of the Nazi era. The book provides further examples of Nobel diploma design work. In 1984 the beloved Czech national poet Jaroslav Seifert was awarded the Nobel Prize. At 83 years old, he had a rich production behind him. The picture on the diploma was dominated by symbols of love and peace, against the backdrop of beautiful, ravaged Prague, his adored home city. In the late autumn of 1985, Gunnar Brusewitz portrayed Claude Simon's fascinating imagery, with its sharp contrasts between the gray battlefields of Flanders and surrealistic dream interpretations. In 1986, the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature was Wole Soyinka of Nigeria. His diploma imparts a genuine feeling of throbbing rhythms, magic rites and the struggle for liberation.
Bo Larsson describes his art work for the 1989 Literature diploma awarded to Camilo José Cela as follows: "The black color seemed a given: the blackness of Goya and Picasso. So I painted the whole parchment black - or almost black. A few drops of white in this black, so that the completely black pupils I would later paint would stand out clearly and intensively. The eyes would belong to Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of Hades. I made the whites of his eyes red; he holds people in the grip of his red claws and bites them with red teeth. I then exposed the scene by sprinkling sand between the dog and the people. The sand swirls around these figures, providing a vision of movement." The Nobel Diplomas
Register of artists and calligraphers
First published 29 May 1998
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 2011 |
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences diplomas have been created by many artists since 1901: Sofia Gisberg (1901-1926); Ella Waldenström, Karin Ageman, Elsa Örtengren-Noréen, Björn Landström and Bertil Kumlien (1927-70); Gunnar Brusewitz (1970-1973); Karl-Axel Pehrson (1974); Tage Hedqvist (1975-1976); Sven Ljungberg (1977-1989); Philip von Schantz (1990-1993); Bengt Landin (1994-1998); and Nils G. Stenqvist (1999-2004). Very often, these diplomas are characterized by an annual theme - birds, flowers, vases etc. - rather than an individual design referring to the Laureates. In 1969, Reinhold Ljunggren created the diplomas for the first Economics Laureate, Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen. Between 1970 and 2004 the Physics, Chemistry and Economic Sciences diplomas were designed by the same artist. In 2004 there was a change. The Chemistry diploma was designed by Ingegerd Möller while Jordi Arkö did the diploma for the Economics Prize. In 2005 Ingegerd Möller did the Physics diplomas, while Jordi Arkö was responsible for Chemistry and Ulla Kraitz for Economics. In 2006 the same artists were engaged for the diplomas but Jordi Arkö was responsible for the Physics diplomas, Ulla Kraitz for Chemistry and Ingegerd Möller for Economics.
The Nobel Medals and the Medal for the Prize in Economics
by Birgitta Lemmel
According to the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, given by the King in Council on June 29, 1900, "the prize-awarding bodies shall present to each prize-winner an assignment for the amount of the prize, a diploma, and a gold medal bearing the image of the testator and an appropriate inscription."
The front side of the three "Swedish" medals (Physics and Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) is the same, featuring a portrait of Alfred Nobel and the years of his birth and death in Latin - NAT-MDCCC XXXIII OB-MDCCC XCVI. Alfred Nobel's face on the Peace medal and on the medal for the Economics Prize has different designs. The main inscription on the reverse side of all three "Swedish" Nobel Prize medals is the same: "Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes,"while the images vary according to the symbols of the respective prize-awarding institutions. The Peace medal has the inscription "Pro pace et fraternitate gentium" and the Economics medal has no quotation at all on the reverse. Up to 1980 the "Swedish" medals, each weighing approximately 200 g and with a diameter of 66 mm, were made of 23 carat gold. Since then they have been made of 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold.
The Nobel medals have had the same design since 1902. Why not since 1901, when the first Prizes were awarded? In early 1901 the young and talented Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg - later Professor Erik Lindberg - had been entrusted with the task of creating the three "Swedish" Nobel medals, while the Norwegian medal - the Peace medal - had been entrusted to the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland. The designs of the reverse sides of the "Swedish" Nobel medals were not finalized in time for the first Award Ceremony in 1901. We gather from Erik Lindberg's correspondence with his father Professor Adolf Lindberg that each of the 1901 Laureates received a "temporary" medal - a medal bearing the portrait of Alfred Nobel, cast in a baser metal - as a memento until the "real" medals were finished. The first of these medals was not completed and cast until September 1902.
During the years 1901-1902 Erik Lindberg was living in Paris. He was influenced by modern French medal engravers of that period, such as the masters Roty, Chaplain, Tasset and Vernon. The portrait on the front of the Swedish medals was completed in time. It was reduced in October 1901 at Janvier's in Paris and the final punching took place in Stockholm. The reason for the delay was that the symbols on the reverse of the medals had to be approved by each Prize-Awarding institution, which was not without controversy. After lengthy discussions by letter, Erik Lindberg decided to return to Stockholm in November 1901 in order to present his ideas in person. His proposals were then all accepted, and he was finally able to produce the plaster casts for the reverse sides, which were then reduced for the final metal-stamping dies. As Gustav Vigeland was a sculptor and not a medal engraver, Erik Lindberg was asked to make the dies for the Peace medal. His reductions were based on Vigeland's designs.
On all "Swedish" Nobel medals the name of the Laureate is engraved fully visible on a plate on the reverse, whereas the name of the Peace Laureate as well as that of the Winner for the Economics Prize is engraved on the edge of the medal, which is less obvious. For the 1975 Economics Prize winners, the Russian Leonid Kantorovich and the American Tjalling Koopmans, this created problems. Their medals were mixed up in Stockholm, and after the Nobel Week the Prize Winners went back to their respective countries with the wrong medals. As this happened during the Cold War, it took four years of diplomatic efforts to have the medals exchanged to their rightful owners.
On December 10 at the Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm, His Majesty the King hands each Laureate a diploma and a medal. The Peace Prize, i.e. diploma and medal, is presented on the same day in Oslo by the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of the King of Norway. The Irish poet William Butler Yeates wrote the following in "The Bounty of Sweden" (The Cuala Press, Dublin, 1925) after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923: "All is over, and I am able to examine my medal, its charming, decorative, academic design, French in manner, a work of the nineties. It shows a young man listening to a Muse, who stands young and beautiful with a great lyre in her hand, and I think as I examine it, 'I was good-looking once like that young man, but my unpractised verse was full of infirmity, my Muse old as it were; and now I am old and rheumatic, and nothing to look at, but my Muse is young'."
There are many rumors of what happened to the Nobel medals of three Nobel Laureates in Physics during World War II: the medals of the Germans Max von Laue (1914) and James Franck (1925), and of the Dane Niels Bohr (1922). Professor Bohr's Institute of Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen had been a refuge for German Jewish physists since 1933. Max von Laue and James Franck had deposited their medals there to keep them from being confiscated by the German authorities. After the occupation of Denmark in April 1940, the medals were Bohr's first concern, according to the Hungarian chemist George de Hevesy (also of Jewish origin and a 1943 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry), who worked at the institute. In Hitler's Germany it was almost a capital offense to send gold out of the country. Since the names of the Laureates were engraved on the medals, their discovery by the invading forces would have had very serious consequences. To quote George de Hevesy (Adventures in Radioisotope Research, Vol. 1, p. 27, Pergamon, New York, 1962), who talks about von Laue's medal: "I suggested that we should bury the medal, but Bohr did not like this idea as the medal might be unearthed. I decided to dissolve it. While the invading forces marched in the streets of Copenhagen, I was busy dissolving Laue's and also James Franck's medals. After the war, the gold was recovered and the Nobel Foundation generously presented Laue and Frank with new Nobel medals." de Hevesy wrote to von Laue after the war that the task of dissolving the medals had not been easy, as gold is "exceedingly unreactive and difficult to dissolve." The Nazis occupied Bohr's institute and searched it very carefully but they did not find anything. The medals quietly waited out the war in a solution of aqua regia. de Hevesy did not mention Niels Bohr's own Nobel medal but documents in the Niels Bohr Archive in Copenhagen show that Niels Bohr's Nobel medal, as well as the Nobel medal of the 1920 Danish Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, August Krogh, had already been donated to an auction held on March 12, 1940 for the benefit of the Fund for Finnish Relief (Finlandshjälpen). The medals were bought by an anonymous buyer and donated to the Danish Historical Museum in Fredriksborg, where they are still kept. Regarding the Nobel medals of von Laue and Franck, the Niels Bohr Archive has a letter from Niels Bohr dated January 24, 1950, about the delivery of gold to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm relating to these two medals. The proceedings of the Nobel Foundation on February 28, 1952, mention that Professor Franck received his recoined medal at a ceremony at the University of Chicago on January 31, 1952. The Nobel Medals - Handmade Precision
Photos: Courtesy of Myntverket (the Swedish Mint).
The Nobel Medals were cast by Myntverket (the Royal Mint) in Eskilstuna, Sweden, 1902-2010. 2011, the Nobel Medals and the Nobel Peace Prize Medals were cast by Det Norske Myntverket (Mint of Norway) in Kongsberg, Norway.More on the Nobel Medals and the Medal for the Prize in Economic Sciences: Physics and Chemistry Physiology or Medicine Literature Peace Economic Sciences
First published 11 March 1998
 Prize Announcement Dates
The announcement of the Nobel Laureates and the Laureates in Economic Sciences for the year is made on the same day that the Nobel Prize awarding institutions choose from among the names recommended by the respective Nobel Committees. Immediately after the vote, a press conference is held by the concerned Nobel Prize awarder.
Announcements of the 2012 Nobel PrizesThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineMonday 8 October, 11:30 a.m. at the earliestThe Nobel Prize in Physics Tuesday 9 October, 11:45 a.m. at the earliest The Nobel Prize in Chemistry Wednesday 10 October, 11:45 a.m. at the earliest The Nobel Peace Prize Friday 12 October, 11:00 a.m. Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel Monday 15 October, 1:00 p.m. at the earliest. The Nobel Prize in Literature According to tradition, the Swedish Academy will set the date for its announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature later.  Facts and Lists
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and for work in peace. In 1968, economic sciences added to the the list of fields. Here you can search and list information after your own wish!
Short Facts about the Nobel Prize
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