Alfred Nobel was a Swedish inventor who patented 355 inventions. His most important discoveries were in explosives. He patented dynamite in 1867, and ten years later introduced the more powerful blasting jelly. In another ten years he produced ballistite, a smokeless explosive powder. Although his explosives were first used in industries such as mining, they were inevitably also used for warfare, which upset Nobel. He became a campaigner for world peace, and used his fortune to set up the Nobel prizes.
