Nobel Prize Nobel Prize The Nobel Prize (, ; Swedish definite form, singular: "Nobelpriset"; ) is a set of annual international awards bestowed in several categories by Swedish and Norwegian institutions in recognition of academic, cultural, or scientific advances. The will of the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel established the five Nobel prizes in 1895. The prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine were first awarded in 1901. In 1968, Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, established the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel", which, although not being a Nobel Prize, has become informally known as
Nobel Prize was not awarded. No prize was awarded in any category from 1940 to 1942, due to the occupation of Norway by Germany. In the subsequent year, all prizes were awarded except those for literature and peace. During the occupation of Norway, three members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee fled into exile. The remaining members escaped persecution from the Germans when the Nobel Foundation stated that the Committee building in Oslo was Swedish property. Thus it was a safe haven from the German military, which was not at war with Sweden. These members kept the work of the Committee going, but