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
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Answer: A- In which year was the first Nobel Prize awarded?
- A. 1895
- B. 1900
- C. 1901
- D. 1911
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Answer: C- Which Indian won the Nobel Prize in 1913?
- A. C. V. Raman
- B. Rabindranath Tagore
- C. Mother Teresa
- D. Amartya Sen
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Answer: B- The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in which city?
- A. Stockholm
- B. Oslo
- C. Copenhagen
- D. Helsinki
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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
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Answer: C- The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was added in
- A. 1955
- B. 1968
- C. 1971
- D. 1982
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Answer: B- The youngest Nobel laureate is
- A. Malala Yousafzai
- B. Lawrence Bragg
- C. Tsung-Dao Lee
- D. Nadia Murad
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Answer: A- Which organisation has won the Nobel Peace Prize three times?
- A. UNO
- B. UNICEF
- C. ICRC
- D. WHO
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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
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Answer: C- Who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930?
- A. Albert Einstein
- B. C. V. Raman
- C. Niels Bohr
- D. Werner Heisenberg
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Answer: B- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 was awarded to
- A. Abdulrazak Gurnah
- B. Annie Ernaux
- C. Jon Fosse
- D. Louise Glück
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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
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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
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Answer: A- The Nobel Foundation is located in
- A. Oslo
- B. Stockholm
- C. Geneva
- D. Vienna
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Answer: B- Maximum number of persons who can share a Nobel Prize is
Show Answer
Answer: B
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