Nobel Prizes, noh BEHL, are awarded each year to people, regardless of nationality, who have made valuable contributions to the "good of humanity." In his will, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel directed that the income from his $9-million estate be used to fund five annual prizes. The awards are given for the most important discoveries or inventions in the fields of physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine; the most distinguished literary work of an idealistic nature; and the most effective work in the interest of international peace. The prizes were first presented in 1901. A sixth prize--the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel--was first awarded in 1969. This prize was established by the Bank of Sweden and is funded by the bank.
Excerpt from the "Nobel Prizes" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999