Interesting facts about Nobel laureates. Nobel Prize Facts You Didn't Know. Greedy Nobel family

He is the child of emigrants from Russia and Ukraine.

One of the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics this year was 96-year-old scientist Arthur Ashkin from the United States. We wrote about all the award winners in the material. Now we are talking about Arthur Ashkin, so that you know that scientists are not only Albert Einstein or Dmitry Mendeleev.

1. Who is Arthur Ashkin?

   Arthur Ashkin is a scientist, physicist, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018.

2. Arthur Ashkin Russian?

   Arthur Ashkin was born in 1922 in New York and lived all his life in the United States. But his parents were immigrants from Russia and Ukraine.

3. Why did Arthur Ashkin win the Nobel Prize in Physics?

   Arthur Ashkin invented "optical tweezers" that can capture particles, atoms, and viruses. Such "tweezers" can hold very tiny objects: for example, living cells, in order to examine them.

4. Arthur Ashkin became the oldest Nobel Prize winner in its history

   Arthur Ashkin is now 96 years old and the oldest scientist to win a Nobel Prize. Before him, the oldest was 90-year-old Leonid Gurvich, who received an award in the field of economics.

5. Arthur Ashkin was unable to give an interview to the Nobel Committee because he was "busy writing a new scientific paper"

   In the morning, even before the announcement of the prize winners, Arthur Ashkin received a call from the Nobel Committee and was asked to give a short interview. Ashkin said he was busy writing a new scientific work. We would be like that at 96 years old.

The most prestigious scientific award in the world, which has existed for 111 years, is associated with tragic moments, funny cases, and quite detective stories. Forbes magazine has chosen the ten most remarkable facts from the history of the Nobel Prize.

1. Multiple laureates

Among the rules for awarding Nobel Prizes there is a condition that all prizes, except for the Peace Prize, can be awarded to one person only once. Nevertheless, four Nobel laureates are known who received the prize twice: this is Maria Sklodowska-Curie (in physics - in 1903, in chemistry - in 1911), Linus Pauling (in chemistry - in 1954, the Peace Prize - in 1962 year), John Bardeen (in physics - in 1956 and 1972) and Frederick Senger (in chemistry - in 1958 and 1980). There was only one three-time winner in the history of the Nobel Prize - the International Committee of the Red Cross, which received the Peace Prize (this prize is the only one that allows the nomination of not only individuals, but also organizations) in 1917, 1944 and 1963.

2. Laureates posthumously

In 1974, the Nobel Foundation introduced a rule that the Nobel Prize was not awarded posthumously. Before that, there were only two posthumous awards: in 1931 - to Erik Karlfeldt (for literature), and in 1961 - to Dag Hammarskjöld (peace prize). After the introduction of the rule, it was violated only once, and then by a tragic coincidence. In 2011, the Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Ralph Steinman, but he died of cancer a few hours before the announcement of the decision of the Nobel Committee.

3. Nobel economics

This year, the monetary part of the Nobel Prize is $1.1 million. The amount was reduced by 20% in June 2012 in order to save money. As the Nobel Foundation argued for this step, the innovation will help to avoid a reduction in the organization's capital in the long term, because capital management should be carried out in such a way that "the prize could be awarded indefinitely."

4. Nobel cache

In the entire history of the Nobel Prize, only one case has been recorded when the winners received the same prize twice. Nobel medals for the same discovery. German physicists Max von Laue (1915 laureate) and James Frank (1925 laureate) after the ban on Nobel Prizes introduced in Nazi Germany in 1936, handed over their medals for preservation to Niels Bohr, who led the institute in Copenhagen. In 1940, when the Reich occupied Denmark, Hungarian György de Hevesy, an employee of the institute, fearing that the medals might be confiscated, dissolved them in “aqua regia” (a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids), and after liberation isolated gold from the preserved solution of chloroauric acid and transferred it to the Royal Swedish Academy. There, Nobel medals were again made from it, which were returned to the laureates. By the way, György de Hevesy himself was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944.

5. Nobel long-liver

Given the brightness of the discovery and its real industrial prospects, the Nobel Prize for flakes, despite the seeming frivolity of the experiments in 2004, was quite expected - sooner or later. Even last year, Geim and Novoselov were named among the most likely candidates for the award by their colleagues in the scientific community. But still nice. It's nice that the most complex science can be so funny and make you think.

Italian neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini is a long-liver among Nobel laureates and the oldest of them: this year she turned 103 years old. She was awarded the Physiology or Medicine Prize in 1986, when she celebrated her 77th birthday. The oldest laureate at the time of the award was 90-year-old American Leonid Gurvich (Economics Prize - 2007), and the youngest was 25-year-old Australian William Lawrence Bragg (Physics Prize - 1915), who became a laureate together with his father William Henry Bragg.

The most prestigious scientific award in the world, which has existed for 111 years, is associated with tragic moments, funny cases, and quite detective stories. Forbes magazine has chosen the ten most remarkable facts from the history of the Nobel Prize.

6. Women of the Nobel

Most big number women laureates - among the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize (15 people) and the Literature Prize (11 people). However, the winners of the literary prize can boast that the first of them was awarded the high title 37 years earlier: in 1909, the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf became the Nobel laureate in literature, and the American Emily Green Bolch became the first woman to win the Peace Prize in 1946.

Now, every time you go online or press the button on your digital camera (or camera phone), you will know who to thank. In 2009, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to scientists who tamed light, learned how to catch photons and transmit them to distant continents.

According to the rules of the Nobel Foundation, no more than three people can receive an award in one area per year for various works- or no more than three authors of one work. The first three were the Americans George Whipple, George Minot and William Murphy, who were awarded the Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934. And the last (for 2011) are the Americans Saul Pelmutter and Adam Reiss and the Australian Brian Schmidt (physics), as well as the Liberians Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Leyma Gbowee and the Yemeni citizen Tawakul Karman (Nobel Peace Prize). If the prize is awarded to more than one person or for more than one work, it is divided proportionally: first - by the number of works, then - by the number of authors of each work. If two works are awarded the prize, one of which has two authors, then the author of the first will receive half the amount, and each of the authors of the second - only a quarter.

8. Nobel passes

The rules for awarding the Nobel Prize do not require that it be awarded every year without fail: by decision of the Nobel Committee, if there are no worthy works among those claiming a high award, the prize may not be awarded. In this case, its monetary equivalent is transferred to the Nobel Foundation in whole or in part - in the latter case, from one third to two thirds of the amount can be transferred to the special fund of the profile section. During the three war years - in 1940, 1941 and 1942 - Nobel Prizes were not awarded at all. Given this gap, the Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded most often (18 times), the prize in physiology and medicine - nine times, in chemistry - eight times, in literature - seven times, in physics - six times, and in the awarding of the prize in economics, introduced only in 1969, there was not a single pass.

9. Nobel transformation

The famous physicist Ernest Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. The phrase with which he reacted to this news became winged: the scientist said that "All science is either physics or stamp collecting", and a little later commented on his award even more figuratively, stating that of all the transformations that he witnessed, “Most unexpected was my own transformation from physicist to chemist.”

10. Nobel heirs

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for his discovery of X-rays. In total, for works directly related to the application of Roentgen's discovery in science, the Nobel Prizes were awarded 12 more times, including in physics (seven times), in physiology and medicine (three times) and in chemistry (twice): in 1914, 1915, 1917, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1936, 1946, 1962, 1964, 1979 and 1981.

Rita Levi-Montalcini was an outstanding neuroscientist and the oldest Nobel Prize winner: having lived to 103 years old, she never married, never complained about obstacles and difficulties, never lost her love of life and sense of humor. She was engaged scientific research contrary to the wishes of her father and the prohibition of Mussolini, she achieved world recognition and legendary fame.

Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in 1909 in Italy, in an intelligent Jewish family: her mother was an artist, and her father was a mathematician and electrical engineer. Four children were brought up in patriarchal traditions: the father believed that girls should not engage in science and think about a career, since a woman should “be wise - not for self-development, but for self-denial.” Against his will, Rita independently mastered Latin and biology and entered the medical school of the University of Turin.

At 27, Rita Levi-Montalcini received a degree in medicine, four years later - another, with a specialization in psychiatry and neurology. Her interest in neuroembryology was awakened in her by the famous scientist Giuseppe Levi, for whom she worked as an assistant. In 1938, Mussolini issued a "Racial Manifesto" that forbade Jews from pursuing academic and professional careers, and Rita's laboratory moved to her apartment, where she continued her experiments on chicken embryos. " I think I should thank Mussolini for classifying me as an inferior race. Thanks to this, I learned the joy of work, not studying at the university, but in my bedroom.," Rita said. She was able to return to normal working conditions only after 1945.

Soon, American scientists became interested in the results of Rita Levi-Montalcini's research, and she was invited to work in the zoological department of the University in St. Louis by the famous neuroscientist Victor Hamburger. They were able to prove that the growth of nerves is affected by a certain stimulating substance, which they called a factor in the growth of nerve tissue. Her work has been instrumental in the study of cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In 1986 Prof. Levi-Montalcini was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine " in recognition of discoveries of fundamental importance for understanding the mechanisms of regulation of cell and organ growth».

Having lived for over 100 years, Rita never married and left no heirs. She never aspired to family life and claimed that her life was already " rich in excellent human relationships, work and hobbies". Throughout her life, she has been involved in charity work and supporting young scientists. Evening parties were often held in her house, during which the hostess amazed the guests with her love of life and wit.

Her statements often became aphorisms and diverged into quotations. In photographs, she was often seen with a glass of wine, which she explained as follows: “ To improve digestion, I drink beer; if I have no appetite, I drink white wine; if I have low blood pressure, I drink red wine; if I have high blood pressure, I drink cognac;". When asked about when you need to drink water, she replied: “ I have never had such a disease.».

At the celebration of her 100th birthday, Rita Levi-Montalcini stated that her mind has retained its sharpness and clarity, and that she continues to devote several hours daily to research work. « Despite the fact that I am turning 100 years old, I think now - thanks to experience - much better than when I was 20. At 20, we are all such fools ...". In 2001, she became a senator for life - a title in Italy that can only be awarded former presidents and citizens who glorified the country with their achievements in the field of art and science.

She died in her sleep at the age of 104, forever remaining in the history of science under the name of the "mistress of the cells." On the eve of her 100th birthday, she said: It's incredible luck for me to be among the living. The body may die, but the messages we send while we are alive remain. My message is: believe in true values!».

Winners of the award in the field of medicine and physiology. In the following days, the world will recognize the best of the best in other categories as well. So, on October 4, the decision of the Nobel Committee in physics will be announced, on October 5 - in chemistry. The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on October 7th. Among them are the famous whistleblower of the American intelligence services Edward Snowden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Pope Francis. The winner of the Economics Prize will be announced on 10 October. Finally, an award in the field of literature will be awarded - the masters of the pen will be announced on October 13th.

It is worth noting that this Nobel week will be special. It has been 120 years since the death of Alfred Nobel. In addition, a record number of laureates are claiming prestigious awards - this year there are 376 of them, including 148 scientific organizations. The award ceremony will take place on December 10 at the Stockholm Philharmonic on the day of Nobel's death. The amount of the cash prize this year will be $932,000. In the selection "MIR 24" - Interesting Facts from the history of the Nobel Prize.

Nobel Prize for all ages

The Nobel Prize is awarded to both young and old. Although basically the winner of the award is over 50 years old. 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan has won the Nobel Prize of all time. In 2014, she was awarded the Peace Prize "for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to an education." The oldest winner at the time of the award was 90-year-old American economist Leonid Gurvich. In 2007, he was awarded the Nobel Prize "for creating the foundations of the theory of optimal mechanisms." In turn, the Italian neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini is the Nobel Prize winner. She made a significant discovery that helped in the treatment of cancer and Alzheimer's disease. At the time of her death in 2012, she was 103 years old.

Nobel "refuseniks"

Surprisingly, they refused more than once. On October 8, 1906, Leo Tolstoy refused the Nobel Prize. The writer was nominated for an award in 1906. The author of "War and Peace" explained his decision by the fact that it would be problematic for him to dispose of the prize money, since "money can only bring evil." But the German chemists Richard Kuhn and Adolf Butenandt, as well as the microbiologist and pathologist Gerhard Domagk, were forced to refuse the prize. After the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to the German pacifist Karl von Ossietzky in 1936, who condemned Adolf Hitler, the leader of the "Aryan people" forbade the Germans to accept the Nobel Prize. Vietnamese political figure Le Duc Tho was to receive the Nobel Prize in 1973 for "his work in resolving the Vietnam conflict." However, he refused the award, citing the fact that "the Vietnam War is not over yet, and the awards are already being handed out." Also at one time, French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre, Russian writer and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Soviet writer Boris Pasternak refused the prestigious award.

Laureates posthumously

Since 1974, the Nobel Prize has not been awarded posthumously. In total, this award was presented to the dead three times in history. In 1931, Erik Karlfeldt was posthumously awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, and in 1961, Dag Hammarskjöld was awarded the Peace Prize. By a coincidence, the deceased scientist was awarded after the change in the rules on posthumous awards. On September 30, 2011, Canadian scientist Ralph Steinman died hours before the Nobel Committee decided to award him the prize for his discovery of dendritic cells and their role in adaptive immunity. Subsequently, the Steinman Prize went to his heirs.

Multiple laureates

Four scientists have won the Nobel Prize twice. Marie Skłodowska-Curie, a French experimental scientist of Polish origin, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911. American physicist John Bardeen received awards in 1956 for the invention of the transistor and in 1972 for the development of the theory of superconductivity. Two Nobel Prizes were given to the English chemist Frederick Sanger - in 1958 for establishing the structure of insulin and in 1980 for fundamental research biochemical properties of nucleic acids. The American chemist Linus Carl Pauling received two Nobel Prizes, in different fields - in 1954 in chemistry, and in 1962 - the Peace Prize. Pauling was an ardent opponent of nuclear weapons. In the history of the Nobel Prize, only one nominee has become a three-time winner - the International Committee of the Red Cross. The organization received the Peace Prize in 1917, 1944 and 1963.

Metamorphoses

There have been funny cases in the history of the Nobel Prize. So, in 1908, the British scientist Ernest Rutherford "turned" from a physicist into a chemist. The father of "nuclear physics" was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his research on the decay of elements in the chemistry of radioactive substances." "All science is either physics or stamp collecting," Rutherford responded. Subsequently, this phrase became winged.

Nobel passes

If there is no worthy candidate, then the Nobel Prize is simply not awarded - in this case, its monetary equivalent is transferred to the Nobel Foundation. For example, during the three war years - in 1940, 1941 and 1942 - the Nobel Prize was not awarded at all. Most often, the Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded, the prize in physiology and medicine was in second place in terms of passes, but the prize in economics always found its laureate.

Eternal nominee

The legendary Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud remained in the history of the Nobel Prize as. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 32 times - from 1915 to 1938, but was never awarded it. The experts considered that the works of the founder of psychoanalysis have no proven scientific value.

A bit of history

Nobel Prize in Norway since 1901. The famous Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who was dubbed the “dealer of death” for the creation of dynamite, decided to give mankind a pleasant gift before his death and bequeathed to spend the lion’s share of his fortune on the establishment and payment of five international prizes - the Peace Prize, Prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Medicine and Physiology and also in literature. According to Nobel's instructions, the Norwegian Nobel Committee became responsible for awarding the Peace Prize. It has five members who are elected by the Norwegian Parliament. Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded 573 times. 870 people and 23 organizations became laureates.