Nobel, Alfred Bernhard (1833–1896)
Swedish-born inventor of dynamite and other explosives. About 1863 he set up a factory to manufacture liquid nitroglycerin, but wen in 1864 this blew up, killing his younger brother, Nobel set out to find safe handling methods for the substance, so discovering dynamite, patented in 1867 (UK) and 1868 (US). Later he invented gelignite (patented 1876) and ballistite (1888). A lifelong pacifist, he wished his explosives to be used solely for peaceful purposes, and as much embittered by their military use. He left most of his fortune for the establishment of the Nobel Foundation and this fund has been used to award Nobel Prizes since 1901.
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