Nobel Prize Facts

549 Nobel Prizes!

Between 1901 and 2011, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences were awarded 549 times. There have been a few years in which the Nobel Prize was not awarded, particularly during World War I and II. 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."

Why is that? 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."

853 Nobel Laureates* !

830 Laureates and 23 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2011. Of them, 69 are Laureates in Economic Sciences. A small number of individuals and organizations have been honoured more than once, which means that 826 individuals and 20 unique organizations have received the Nobel Prize in total. See "Multiple Nobel Laureates".

List of all Nobel Laureates
List of Nobel Prize awarded organizations

Lists of all Nobel Laureates in
| Physics | Chemistry | Physiology or Medicine | Literature | Peace |
| Economic Sciences |

Years when the Nobel Prize have not been awarded

Since the start, in 1901, there are some years when the Nobel Prizes have not been awarded. The total number of times are 50. Most of them during World War I (1914-1918) and II (1939-1945).

Only 40 Nobel Prizes to women!

Between 1901 and 2011, 549 Nobel Prizes and Prizes in Economic Sciences have been awarded, 40 to women and 509 to men.

List of all female Nobel Laureates

The youngest Nobel Laureate

To date, the youngest Nobel Laureate is Lawrence Bragg, who was just 25 years old when he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his father in 1915.
List of youngest Nobel Laureates

The oldest Nobel Laureate

The oldest Laureate to date is Leonid Hurwicz, who was 90 years old when he was awarded the 2007 Prize in Economic Sciences.
List of oldest Nobel Laureates

Oldest living Nobel Laureate

The Nobel Laureate who has lived to the oldest age is Rita Levi-Montalcini, who was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She celebrated her 102nd anniversary on 22 April 2011!

Two Nobel Laureates have declined the Nobel Prize!

Jean-Paul Sartre, awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.

Le Duc Tho, 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 Doc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason.

Four Nobel Laureates have been forced by authorities to decline the Nobel Prize!

Adolf Hitler forbade three German Nobel 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.

Three Nobel Laureates have been under arrest at the time of the award

German pacifist and journalist Carl von Ossietzky
Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi
Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo

Multiple Nobel 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.

J. Bardeen	M. Curie	L. Pauling
Physics 1956 Physics 1972	Physics 1903 Chemistry 1911	Chemistry 1954 Peace 1962
F. Sanger	ICRC	UNHCR
Chemistry 1958 Chemistry 1980	Peace 1917 Peace 1944 Peace 1963	Peace 1954 Peace 1981

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 lead to the conclusion that Ralph Steinman should continue to remain a Nobel Laureate, as the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet had announced the 2011 Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine without knowing of his death.

"Family Nobel Laureates"

As you may notice, 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.

Links to more facts on the Nobel Prizes:
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physics
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature
Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize
Facts on the Prize in Economic Sciences
Nomination FAQ