Nobel Prize facts - NobelPrize.org

Nobel Prize facts - NobelPrize.org
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The will of Alfred Nobel from 27 November, 1895
© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Nobel Prize facts
On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace – the Nobel Prizes. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Learn more about the Nobel Prize laureates* here.
633 Nobel Prizes
Nobel Prize
Number of prizes
Number of laureates
Awarded to one laureate
Shared by two laureates
Shared by three laureates
Physics
119
230
47
33
39
Chemistry
117
200
63
25
29
Medicine
116
232
40
36
40
Literature
118
122
114
Peace
106
112+31
72
31
Economic sciences
57
99
26
20
11
Total
633
1,026
362
149
122
In the
statutes of the Nobel Foundation
it says: “A prize amount may be equally divided between two works, each of which is considered to merit a prize. If a work that is being rewarded has been produced by two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded to them jointly. In no case may a prize amount be divided between more than three persons.”
All Nobel Prize laureates
Between 1901 and 2025, the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel were awarded 633 times to 1,026 people and organisations. With some receiving the Nobel Prize more than once, this makes a total of 990 individuals and 28 organisations. See
Multiple Nobel Prize laureates
List of all Nobel Prize laureates
List of Nobel Prize awarded organisations
Lists of all Nobel Prize laureates in
Physics
Chemistry
Physiology or medicine
Literature
Peace
Economic sciences
Years without Nobel Prizes
Since the start, in 1901, there are some years when the Nobel Prizes have not been awarded. The total number of times are 49. Most of them during World War I (1914-1918) and II (1939-1945). In the
statutes of the Nobel Foundation
it says: “If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation’s restricted funds.”.
Physics: 1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941, 1942
Chemistry: 1916, 1917, 1919, 1924, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1942
Physiology or medicine: 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1940, 1941, 1942
Literature:  1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943
Peace: 1914, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1967, 1972
Economic sciences: –
Nobel Prize laureates and affiliation
Here you can find out which universities, research institutions or companies Nobel Prize laureates were affiliated with at the time of the Nobel Prize announcement.
Nobel Prize laureates listed
by affiliation
The youngest Nobel Prize laureates in all categories
Nobel Peace Prize 2014
Malala Yousafzai
Awarded at age 17
“for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”
Nobel Peace Prize 2018
Nadia Murad
Awarded at age 25
“for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”
Nobel Prize in Physics 1915
Lawrence Bragg
Awarded at age 25
“for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays”
Nobel Prize in Physics 1957
Tsung-Dao Lee
Awarded at age 30
“for their penetrating investigation of the so-called parity laws which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles”
Nobel Prize in Physics 1936
Carl D. Anderson
Awarded at age 31
“for his discovery of the positron”
Nobel Prize in Physics 1933
Paul A.M. Dirac
Awarded at age 31
“for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory”
Nobel Prize in Physics 1932
Werner Heisenberg
Awarded at age 31
“for the creation of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen”
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1923
Frederick G. Banting
Awarded at age 31
“for the discovery of insulin”
The youngest physics laureate
Nobel Prize in Physics 1915
Lawrence Bragg
Awarded at age 25
“for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays”
The youngest chemistry laureate
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935
Frédéric Joliot
Awarded at age 35
“in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements”
The youngest medicine laureate
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1923
Frederick G. Banting
Awarded at age 31
“for the discovery of insulin”
The youngest literature laureate
Nobel Prize in Literature 1907
Rudyard Kipling
Awarded at age 41
“in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author”
The youngest peace laureate
Nobel Peace Prize 2014
Malala Yousafzai
Awarded at age 17
“for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”
The youngest economic sciences laureate
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019
Esther Duflo
Awarded at age 46
“for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”
The oldest Nobel Prize laureates in all categories
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019
John B. Goodenough
Awarded at age 97
“for the development of lithium-ion batteries”
Nobel Prize in Physics 2018
“for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics”
Arthur Ashkin
Awarded at age 96
“for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems”
Nobel Prize in Physics 2024
John J. Hopfield
Awarded at age 91
“for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks”
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2007
Leonid Hurwicz
Awarded at age 90
“for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory”
Nobel Prize in Physics 2021
“for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems”
Syukuro Manabe
Awarded at age 90
“for the physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”
Nobel Prize in Physics 2021
“for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems”
Klaus Hasselmann
Awarded at age 89
“for the physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2012
Lloyd S. Shapley
Awarded at age 89
“for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design”
Nobel Prize in Physics 2020
Roger Penrose
Awarded at age 89
“for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity”
The oldest physics laureate
Nobel Prize in Physics 2018
“for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics”
Arthur Ashkin
Awarded at age 96
“for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems”
The oldest chemistry laureate
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019
John B. Goodenough
Awarded at age 97
“for the development of lithium-ion batteries”
The oldest medicine laureate
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1966
Peyton Rous
Awarded at age 87
“for his discovery of tumour-inducing viruses”
The oldest literature laureate
Nobel Prize in Literature 2007
Doris Lessing
Awarded at age 87
“that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny”
The oldest peace laureate
Nobel Peace Prize 1995
Joseph Rotblat
Awarded at age 86
“for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms”
The oldest economic sciences laureate
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2007
Leonid Hurwicz
Awarded at age 90
“for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory”
68 Nobel Prizes to women
Between 1901 and 2025 the Nobel Prize and prize in economic sciences have been awarded 68 times to women.
List of all female Nobel Prize laureates
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Two Nobel Prize laureates declined the prize
Jean-Paul Sartre
, awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.
Le Duc
Tho
, awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They were awarded the prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace accord. Le Duc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason.
Forced to decline the Nobel Prize
Four Nobel Prize laureates have been forced by authorities to decline the Nobel Prize. Adolf Hitler forbade three German Nobel Prize laureates,
Richard Kuhn
Adolf Butenandt
and
Gerhard Domagk
, from accepting the Nobel Prize. All of them could later receive the Nobel Prize diploma and medal, but not the prize amount.
Boris Pasternak
, the 1958 Nobel Prize laureate in literature, initially accepted the Nobel Prize but was later coerced by the authorities of the Soviet Union, his native country, to decline the Nobel Prize.
Nobel Prize laureates under arrest at the time of the award
Five Nobel Prize laureates were under arrest at the time of the award of the Nobel Prize, all of them Nobel Peace Prize laureates:
German pacifist and journalist
Carl von Ossietzky
Burmese politician
Aung San Suu Kyi
Chinese human rights activist
Liu Xiaobo
Belarus human rights advocate
Ales Bialiatski
Iranian human rights advocate and freedom fighter
Narges Mohammadi
Carl von Ossietzky
Nobel Peace Prize 1935
for his burning love for freedom of thought and expression and his valuable contribution to the cause of peace.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Nobel Peace Prize 1991
for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.
Liu Xiaobo
Nobel Peace Prize 2010
for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.
Ales Bialiatski
Nobel Peace Prize 2022
The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.
Narges Mohammadi
Nobel Peace Prize 2023
for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.
As a tribute to the absent Nobel Laureate, Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel Medal and Diploma were placed on an empty chair during the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, 10 December 2010.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 2010, Photo: Ken Opprann
Multiple Nobel Prize laureates
The work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been honoured by a Nobel Peace Prize three times. Besides, the founder of the ICRC,
Henry Dunant
, was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
Linus Pauling is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes – the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize.
John Bardeen
Nobel Prize in Physics 1972
for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory.
Nobel Prize in Physics 1956
for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect.
Marie Curie, née Skłodowska
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911
in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element.
Nobel Prize in Physics 1903
in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.
Linus Carl Pauling
Nobel Peace Prize 1962
for his fight against the nuclear arms race between East and West.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1954
for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances.
Frederick Sanger
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1980
for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1958
for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin.
K. Barry Sharpless
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022
for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2001
for his work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions.
Comité international de la Croix Rouge (International Committee of the Red Cross)
Nobel Peace Prize 1963
for promoting the principles of the Geneva Convention and cooperation with the UN.
Nobel Peace Prize 1944
for the great work it has performed during the war on behalf of humanity.
Nobel Peace Prize 1917
for the efforts to take care of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war and their families.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Nobel Peace Prize 1981
for promoting the fundamental rights of refugees.
Nobel Peace Prize 1954
for its efforts to heal the wounds of war by providing help and protection to refugees all over the world.
Posthumous Nobel Prizes
From 1974, the
Statutes
of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize has only been awarded posthumously twice: to
Dag Hammarskjöld
(Nobel Peace Prize 1961) and
Erik Axel Karlfeldt
(Nobel Prize in Literature 1931).
Following the 2011 announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, it was discovered that one of the medicine laureates,
Ralph Steinman
, had passed away three days earlier. The Board of the Nobel Foundation examined the statutes, and an interpretation of the purpose of the rule above led to the conclusion that Ralph Steinman should continue to remain a Nobel Prize laureate, as the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet had announced the 2011 Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine without knowing of his death.
“Family Nobel Prize laureates”
The Curies were a very successful ‘Nobel Prize family’. Marie Curie herself was awarded two Nobel Prizes.
Read more about Marie and Pierre Curie and the discovery of polonium and radium
More about Nobel Prize awarded couples
Marie Curie, née Skłodowska
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911
in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element.
Nobel Prize in Physics 1903
in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.
Pierre Curie
Nobel Prize in Physics 1903
in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.
Irène Joliot-Curie
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935
in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.
Frédéric Joliot
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935
in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.
Gerty Theresa Cori, née Radnitz
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947
for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.
Carl Ferdinand Cori
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947
for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.
Gunnar Myrdal
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1974
for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena.
Alva Myrdal
Nobel Peace Prize 1982
for their work for disarmament and nuclear and weapon-free zones.
May-Britt Moser
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014
for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
Edvard I. Moser
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014
for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
Esther Duflo
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019
for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
Abhijit Banerjee
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019
for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
Marie Curie, née Skłodowska
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911
in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element.
Nobel Prize in Physics 1903
in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.
Irène Joliot-Curie
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935
in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.
Pierre Curie
Nobel Prize in Physics 1903
in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.
Irène Joliot-Curie
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935
in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.
Sir William Henry Bragg
Nobel Prize in Physics 1915
for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays.
William Lawrence Bragg
Nobel Prize in Physics 1915
for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays.
Niels Henrik David Bohr
Nobel Prize in Physics 1922
for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them.
Aage Niels Bohr
Nobel Prize in Physics 1975
for the discovery of the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei and the development of the theory of the structure of the atomic nucleus based on this connection.
Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1929
for their investigations on the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes.
Ulf von Euler
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1970
for their discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation.
Arthur Kornberg
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1959
for their discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid.
Roger D. Kornberg
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2006
for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.
Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn
Nobel Prize in Physics 1924
for his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy.
Kai M. Siegbahn
Nobel Prize in Physics 1981
for his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy.
Joseph John Thomson
Nobel Prize in Physics 1906
in recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations on the conduction of electricity by gases.
George Paget Thomson
Nobel Prize in Physics 1937
for their experimental discovery of the diffraction of electrons by crystals.
Sune K. Bergström
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1982
for their discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related biologically active substances.
Svante Pääbo
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022
for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.
Jan Tinbergen
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1969
for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes.
Nikolaas Tinbergen
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1973
for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns.
The Nobel Prize award ceremonies
On December 10, 1901, the Nobel Prizes were awarded for the first time in Stockholm and in Christiania (now Oslo) respectively.
The Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm took place at the Old Royal Academy of Music during the years 1901-1925. Since 1926, the ceremony has taken place at the Stockholm Concert Hall with few exceptions: 1971 in the Philadelphia Church; 1972 in the St. Erik International Fair (known today as Stockholm International Fairs) in Älvsjö, 1975 in the St. Erik International Fair and in 1991 at the Stockholm Globe Arena. The King of Sweden hands over the prize to the laureate/s.
In Norway, during the years 1901-1904 the decision on the peace prize was announced at a meeting of the Storting on 10 December, after which the recipients were informed in writing. During 1905-1946 the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremonies were held at the Nobel Institute building, during 1947-1989 in the auditorium of the University of Oslo and since 1990 at the Oslo City Hall. The King of Norway is present, but it is the Chairman of the Nobel Committee who hands over the prize to the laureate/s.
Ceremonies archive
Nobel Prize award ceremony in Konserthuset Stockholm.
© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud.
The Nobel Prize insignias
At the Nobel Prize award ceremonies on 10 December the Nobel Prize laureates receive three things: a Nobel Prize diploma, a Nobel Prize medal and a document confirming the Nobel Prize amount. Each Nobel Prize diploma is a unique work of art, created by foremost Swedish and Norwegian artists and calligraphers. The Nobel Prize medals are handmade with careful precision and in 18 carat recycled gold.
The Nobel Prize medals in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine and literature are identical on the face: it shows the image of Alfred Nobel and the years of his birth and death (1833-1896). Nobel’s portrait also appears on the Nobel Peace Prize medal and the medal for the prize in economic sciences, but with a slightly different design. The image on the reverse varies according to the institution awarding the prize.
More about the Nobel Prize medals
The Nobel Prize diplomas
Each Nobel Prize diploma is a unique work of art, created by foremost Swedish and Norwegian artists and calligraphers.
More about the Nobel Prize diplomas
Leymah Gbowee – Nobel Diploma
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 2011, Artist: Jan Trygve Fløysvik, Calligrapher: Inger Magnus, Book binder: Julius Johansen, Photo reproduction: Thomas Widerberg
The Nobel Prize money
Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 2,2 billion) to be converted into a fund and invested in “safe securities.” The income from the investments was to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
The Nobel Prize amount for 2025 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize.
More about the Nobel Prize money
* Why are the individuals and organisations awarded a Nobel Prize called Nobel Prize laureates?
The word “laureate” refers to being signified by the laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, the god Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. A laurel wreath is a circular crown made of branches and leaves of the bay laurel (in Latin: Laurus nobilis). In Ancient Greece, laurel wreaths were awarded to victors as a sign of honour – both in athletic competitions and in poetic meets.
More facts on the Nobel Prizes
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physics
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature
Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize
Facts on the prize in economic sciences
Facts on all Nobel Prizes
First published 5 October 2009.