Nobel Prize facts
Nobel Prize facts
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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.

621 Nobel Prizes

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 2023, the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel were awarded 621 times to 1000 people and organisations. With some receiving the Nobel Prize more than once, this makes a total of 965 individuals and 27 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 listedby affiliation

The youngest Nobel Prize laureates

Physics

Chemistry

Physiology or medicine

Literature

Peace

Economic sciences

The oldest Nobel Prize laureates

Physics

Chemistry

Physiology or medicine

Literature

Peace

Economic sciences

65 Nobel Prizes to women

Between 1901 and 2023 the Nobel Prize and prize in economic sciences have been awarded 65 times to women.

List of all female Nobel Prize laureates

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 DucTho, 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 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

The 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

The Nobel Peace Prize 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.

Liu Xiaobo

The Nobel Peace Prize 2010 for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.

Ales Bialiatski

The 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

The 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.

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

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1972 for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1956 for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect.

Marie Curie, née Skłodowska

The 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.

The 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

The Nobel Peace Prize 1962 for his fight against the nuclear arms race between East and West.

The 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

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1980 for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1958 for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin.

K. Barry Sharpless

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.

The 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)

The Nobel Peace Prize 1963 for promoting the principles of the Geneva Convention and cooperation with the UN.

The Nobel Peace Prize 1944 for the great work it has performed during the war on behalf of humanity.

The 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)

The Nobel Peace Prize 1981 for promoting the fundamental rights of refugees.

The 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

Married couples (at the time of the award)

Marie Curie, née Skłodowska

The 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.

The 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

The 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

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935 in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.

Frédéric Joliot

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935 in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.

Gerty Theresa Cori, née Radnitz

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947 for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.

Carl Ferdinand Cori

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947 for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.

Gunnar Myrdal

The 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

The Nobel Peace Prize 1982 for their work for disarmament and nuclear and weapon-free zones.

May-Britt Moser

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.

Edvard I. Moser

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.

Esther Duflo

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

Abhijit Banerjee

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

Mother & daughter

Marie Curie, née Skłodowska

The 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.

The 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

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935 in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.

Father & daughter

Pierre Curie

The 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

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935 in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements.

Father & son

Sir William Henry Bragg

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915 for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays.

William Lawrence Bragg

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915 for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays.

Niels Henrik David Bohr

The 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

The 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

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1929 for their investigations on the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes.

Ulf von Euler

The 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

The 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

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2006 for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.

Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1924 for his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy.

Kai M. Siegbahn

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1981 for his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy.

Joseph John Thomson

The 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

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1937 for their experimental discovery of the diffraction of electrons by crystals.

Sune K. Bergström

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1982 for their discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related biologically active substances.

Svante Pääbo

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.

Brothers

Jan Tinbergen

The 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

The 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

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

The Nobel Prize amount

Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 1,702 million) 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 mankind.”

The Nobel Prize amount for 2023 was set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize.

More about the Nobel Prize amount

* 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