Alfred Nobel

Alfred Bernhard Nobel born on October 21, 1833 was armaments manufacturer, chemist, engineer and innovator. He was born in Sweden and made a fortune in the armaments industry. Nobel held over 350 different patents during his lifetime and he is the inventor of dynamite. After Nobel's death his fortune was used to fund the Nobel Prize.
In 1837 Nobel's family moved to Saint Petersburg and the family grew successful by manufacturing machine tools and explosives. Nobel's father invented plywood and began working on the torpedo. After the Crimean War in 1853-1856 Nobel's family returned to Sweden and Nobel devoted his time and talents to the study of explosives and to the safe manufacture and use of nitroglycerine. In 1863 Nobel invented a detonator and in 1865 he designed blasting caps. He also held the patent for a gas meter and worked with John Ericsson who designed the USS Monitor.
In 1864 a shed used for nitroglycerin preparation exploded in Stockholm killing Nobel's younger brother Emil plus four other people. He went on to build more factories and worked on improving the stability of his explosives. In 1867 Nobel invented dynamite that proved to be safer than nitroglycerin. Dynamite was patented and used extensively in mining and building transportation networks. In1975 Nobel invented gelignite and in 1887 he patented ballistite.
In 1884 Nobel was selected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences which is the institution that issues Nobel prizes. Nobel became very wealthy though the development of oil along the Caspian Sea. He also established 90 armaments factories.
Most of his business life was traveling in Europe and North American. He kept a permanent home in Paris from 1873 to 1891. Nobel was had periods of depression and he was a solitary person. He never married.