Alfred Nobel: Background
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_nobel
Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He was born October 21st, 1833. When a new explosive material, nitroglycerin, was discovered, he was very interested in it as a child. Although he wasn't the inventor of nitroglycerin, he found that it was a very important ingredient of a later invention, dynamite. Dynamite was a very explosive stick of gunpowder and nitroglycerin-soaked kieselgurh, also known as diatomaceous earth, a powder used for many things like kitty litter. But Dynamite was used a lot for destructive purposes like war. Dynamite may have been one of the reasons that Alfred Nobel created the Peace Prize. The reasoning for this is because he was ashamed to have given the world such a powerful and destructive object. He was the one who invented colloided, or smokeless, gunpowder. Gunpowder is also an important ingredient in dynamite. He discovered something remotely like dynamite as well that was very explosive. It was called blasting gelatin. It is a stiff gel that explodes when lit. He had one particular friend that was at first his secretary. Her name was Bertha von Suttner.She may have been an inspiration for very important things later on in his life. Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm Sweden. When a new explosive material, nitroglycerin, was discovered, he was very interested in it as a child. He was the one who invented colloided, or smokeless, gunpowder. One morning in 1888, he woke up to read his own obituary. The title read "Le marchand de la mort est mort," meaning " The Merchant of Death is dead." This was very shaking for Alfred Nobel. They actually reported the wrong Nobel. It was his brother who died. But about 8 years later the article was true. He died in his villa of a cerebral hemorrhage on the date of December 10th, 1896.