Nobel Prize – Comprehensive GK for Railway Exams
1. What is the Nobel Prize?
- The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in several categories by Swedish and Norwegian institutions.
- Established by the 1895 will of Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist Alfred Nobel.
- First awarded in 1901.
- Administered by the Nobel Foundation (established in 1900).
- Recognizes outstanding contributions to humanity in Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics (added in 1968).
2. Alfred Nobel – Key Facts
| Fact |
Detail |
| Born |
21 Oct 1833, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Died |
10 Dec 1896, San Remo, Italy |
| Invented |
Dynamite (1867) |
| Will signed |
27 Nov 1895 |
| Estate left for prizes |
SEK 31 million (≈ ₹250 cr today) |
| Motto |
“Invented to benefit humankind” |
3. Nobel Prize Categories & Awarding Institutions
| Category |
Awarding Body |
Location |
| Physics |
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
Stockholm |
| Chemistry |
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
Stockholm |
| Medicine |
Karolinska Institute |
Stockholm |
| Literature |
Swedish Academy |
Stockholm |
| Peace |
Norwegian Nobel Committee |
Oslo |
| Economics |
Sveriges Riksbank (Nobel Memorial Prize) |
Stockholm |
4. Important Dates
| Year |
Event |
| 1833 |
Alfred Nobel born |
| 1867 |
Dynamite invented |
| 1895 |
Nobel’s will signed |
| 1900 |
Nobel Foundation created |
| 1901 |
First prizes awarded |
| 1968 |
Economics prize added |
| 1974 |
Rule: Prize not given posthumously |
| 2012 |
Maximum 3 laureates per category fixed |
| 2020 |
Cash reward raised to 10 million SEK |
5. Indian & Indian-origin Nobel Laureates
| Year |
Laureate |
Field |
Detail |
| 1913 |
Rabindranath Tagore |
Literature |
1st Asian Nobel, for Gitanjali |
| 1930 |
C. V. Raman |
Physics |
Raman Effect |
| 1979 |
Mother Teresa |
Peace |
Albanian-Indian, Kolkata |
| 1998 |
Amartya Sen |
Economics |
Welfare economics |
| 2009 |
Venki Ramakrishnan |
Chemistry |
Indian-born US/UK citizen, ribosome |
| 2014 |
Kailash Satyarthi |
Peace |
Child rights activist |
6. Firsts & Records
| Record |
Person / Detail |
| First Nobel |
Wilhelm Röntgen (Physics, 1901) |
| First Woman |
Marie Curie (Physics, 1903) |
| First Indian |
Rabindranath Tagore (1913) |
| Youngest laureate |
Malala Yousafzai (Peace, 2014, age 17) |
| Oldest laureate |
John B. Goodenough (Chemistry, 2019, age 97) |
| Only person with 2 Nobels in different sciences |
Marie Curie (Physics 1903, Chemistry 1911) |
| Organisation with most Peace Prizes |
ICRC (3 times: 1917, 1944, 1963) |
7. Nobel Prize Statistics (1901-2023)
| Metric |
Number |
| Total prizes awarded |
621 (to 1,000+ laureates) |
| Physics |
117 |
| Chemistry |
115 |
| Medicine |
114 |
| Literature |
115 |
| Peace |
104 |
| Economics |
56 |
| Women laureates |
65 |
| Shared prizes (2/3 persons) |
~47 % |
8. Quick-Reference Table – Recent Indian Connections
| Year |
Name |
Category |
Remark |
| 2023 |
No Indian |
– |
– |
| 2022 |
No Indian |
– |
– |
| 2021 |
No Indian |
– |
– |
| 2020 |
Louise Glück (US) |
Literature |
Indian media hype ≠ Indian |
| 2019 |
Abhijit Banerjee |
Economics |
Indian-American, MIT |
9. One-Liner Revision Facts
- Nobel medals are 18-carat green gold plated with 24-carat gold.
- Nobel Week: 6–12 December every year; Peace Prize only in Oslo.
- Medals feature Alfred Nobel’s profile and the years of his birth & death.
- No prize in Nobel’s will for Mathematics – urban myth says due to rivalry with Mittag-Leffler.
- Prize cannot be appealed; Nobel Committee’s decision is final.
- Cash component: 10 million SEK (≈ ₹7.5 crore) shared equally when >1 laureate.
- Indian PM Gandhi never won Peace Prize; was nominated 5 times.
- UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) won Peace Prize twice (1954, 1981).
- 2023 Physics laureates: Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, Anne L’Huillier – attosecond pulses.
- 2023 Medicine: Katalin Karikó & Drew Weissman – mRNA vaccine tech.
10. MCQs for Railway Exams
- Who instituted the Nobel Prize?
- A. Alfred Nobel
- B. Alfred Hitchcock
- C. Alfred Russell
- D. Alfred Wegener
Show Answer
Answer: A
- In which year was the first Nobel Prize awarded?
- A. 1895
- B. 1900
- C. 1901
- D. 1911
Show Answer
Answer: C
- Which Indian won the Nobel Prize in 1913?
- A. C. V. Raman
- B. Rabindranath Tagore
- C. Mother Teresa
- D. Amartya Sen
Show Answer
Answer: B
- The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in which city?
- A. Stockholm
- B. Oslo
- C. Copenhagen
- D. Helsinki
Show Answer
Answer: B
- Who is the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in two different sciences?
- A. John Bardeen
- B. Linus Pauling
- C. Marie Curie
- D. Frederick Sanger
Show Answer
Answer: C
- The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was added in
- A. 1955
- B. 1968
- C. 1971
- D. 1982
Show Answer
Answer: B
- The youngest Nobel laureate is
- A. Malala Yousafzai
- B. Lawrence Bragg
- C. Tsung-Dao Lee
- D. Nadia Murad
Show Answer
Answer: A
- Which organisation has won the Nobel Peace Prize three times?
- A. UNO
- B. UNICEF
- C. ICRC
- D. WHO
Show Answer
Answer: C
- The cash reward for each 2023 Nobel Prize is
- A. 8 million SEK
- B. 9 million SEK
- C. 10 million SEK
- D. 11 million SEK
Show Answer
Answer: C
- Who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930?
- A. Albert Einstein
- B. C. V. Raman
- C. Niels Bohr
- D. Werner Heisenberg
Show Answer
Answer: B
- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 was awarded to
- A. Abdulrazak Gurnah
- B. Annie Ernaux
- C. Jon Fosse
- D. Louise Glück
Show Answer
Answer: C
- The motto inscribed on the Nobel medal is
- A. Pro pace et fraternitate
- B. Inventions to benefit humankind
- C. For the greatest benefit to humankind
- D. Pro scientia et sapientia
Show Answer
Answer: C
- Which of the following Indians has NOT won a Nobel Prize?
- A. Subhas Chandra Bose
- B. Kailash Satyarthi
- C. Venki Ramakrishnan
- D. Amartya Sen
Show Answer
Answer: A
- The Nobel Foundation is located in
- A. Oslo
- B. Stockholm
- C. Geneva
- D. Vienna
Show Answer
Answer: B
- Maximum number of persons who can share a Nobel Prize is
Show Answer
Answer: B
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