One of the key events in the social and intellectual life of Sweden and Norway — Nobel Day (Nobeldagen) — ceremony of presenting one of the most prestigious international awards — Nobel Prize (Swedish). Nobelpriset, English. Nobel Prize, which takes place annually on December 10th. It is awarded for outstanding scientific research, revolutionary inventions and major contributions to culture and society and is internationally recognized as the most honorable civil distinction.
Its founder was Alfred Nobel —, a famous Swedish chemist, engineer and inventor, who has 355 inventions to his credit (the most famous among them is — dynamite). During his life, Nobel accumulated an impressive fortune (he received most of it precisely thanks to the introduction of his own inventions), the bulk of which he bequeathed to the establishment of an international prize. By the way, Nobel signed the last version of his famous will almost a year before his death — on November 27, 1895.
The result of this will was the organization of the Nobel Foundation. Today, Swedish organizations are responsible for awarding Nobel Prizes in all branches of science and culture. The exception is the Nobel Peace Prize – to whom to award this award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee decides.
There are several interesting points regulating the choice of laureates. Thus, the Nobel Prize can only be awarded to individuals, not institutions (with the exception, again, of the — Peace Prize, it can be awarded to both individuals and organizations). In one category, the Nobel Prize can be awarded simultaneously to two works. This rule, introduced only in 1968, has always been de facto observed. In this case, the monetary reward is divided first equally between the works, and then equally between their authors.
The Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously. But if the applicant was alive at the time the prize was announced (in October) and died before the award ceremony (December 10 of this year), then the prize remains with him. The prize may not be awarded to anyone at all if members of the relevant committee have not selected worthy works among those submitted to the competition. In this case, the prize money is retained until the following year. If even then the prize is not awarded, they are transferred to the closed reserve of the Nobel Foundation. In turn, the laureates who received the prizes must give the so-called «Nobel Memorial Lecture», which is then published by the Nobel Foundation in a special volume.
The award procedure for nominees is preceded by a lot of work, which is carried out all year round by numerous organizations around the world. The final selection of laureates is carried out by the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute and the Norwegian Nobel Committee. This usually happens in October. And on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel (December 10, 1896), the laureates are awarded in the capitals of two countries at once.
In Stockholm, the King of Sweden presents prizes in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature and economics. In Oslo, in the presence of the King of Norway and members of the royal family, the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presents the Peace Prize.
Along with the cash prize, the amount of which varies depending on the income received by the Nobel Foundation, the laureates are awarded a gold medal with the image of Nobel and a diploma. Nobel Prizes have great international prestige and, in addition, provide significant economic support to the laureates.
In addition to the award ceremony itself, celebrations dedicated to this event include two more important components of the — Nobel Dinner and the Nobel Concert, in which the most prominent classical musicians of our time take part. All these events take place as part of Nobel Week.
Postcard «December 10 — Nobel day» Story «How Sashka left his wife, and she returned him»