Alfred Nobel

Chemist, Inventor, Awesome Administrator, Social Reformer.

"It could and should soon come to pass that all states pledge themselves collectively to attack an aggressor. That would make war impossible, and would force even the most brutal and unreasonable Power to appeal to a court of arbitration, or else keep quiet."

Alfred Nobel Family

One of Alfred's forbears was Olof Rudbeck the Elder [1630-1702], a professor of medicine at the Uppsala University, Sweden. He discovered the lymphatic system. Being a great achiever in many fields including botany, history, architecture and engineering, he constructed houses, bridges, aqueducts and lock systems. He established botanical gardens and training in gunnery and fortification.

Rudbeck's daughter Wandela's husband was Petrus Nobelius. Their grandson, Alfred's grandfather Immanuel, abridged the name to Nobel.

Alfred's father, also named Immanuel, had received a technical education and was an architect and building contractor. He was constantly seeking new endeavors.

Alfred's mother was Andriette Nobel neé Ahlsell. During the time that Alfred's father fell into financial difficulties and moved to St. Petersburg for better prospects, she operated a small milk and vegetable store for sustenance. It has been said that at this time Alfred and his two elder brothers Robert and Ludvig [younger brother Emil was born after the family reunited with their father in Russia] sold matches to earn their keep.

Alfred and his siblings were all educated not in a formal school, but by university professors in the natural sciences by Yuli Trapp and Nicolai Zinin and in the humanities. Alfred's two elder brothers Robert and Ludvig were married and had children. His younger brother Emil passed away young.

Alfred had a good relationship with his parents and brothers. He was very much attached to his mother and visited her on her birthday. The business relationship Alfred had with his brothers Robert and Ludvig was good and productive.

Alfred Nobel was not married. Hence he had no children. Alfred survived his parents and all his brothers.

Andriette Nobel neé Ahlsell, Alfred's Mother. Source: nobelprize.org.

Alfred Nobel's parents Andriette Nobel neé Ahlsell and Immanuel Nobel. Source: nobelprize.org.

Andriette Nobel neé Ahlsell, Alfred's Mother. A reproduction of the portrait; one of the few personal belongings Alfred Nobel took with him from Paris to Sanremo, Italy. Source: nobelprize.org.

The Nobel brothers (clockwise) Robert, Alfred, Ludvig and baby Emil. This photo is from St. Petersburg, around 1843.

Alfred (left), a teenager and the younger of his two elder brothers, Ludvig, photographed in St. Petersburg, probably around the end of the 1840s.

Robert 1829-1896. Alfred's eldeest brother

Ludvig Nobel 1831-1888. Alfred's second elder brother.

Emil Nobel 1843-1864. Alfred's younger brother. Killed in the explosion at Heleneborg in 1864.

Alfred Nobel to his brother's wife, "What a contrast between us. You live a warm and glowing life, surrounded by loved ones whom you care for and who care for you. You are anchored in contentment. I drift about without rudder or compass, a wreck on the sea of life. I have no memories to cheer me, no pleasant illusions of the future to comfort me, or about me to satisfy my vanity. I have no family to furnish the only kind of survival that concerns us, no friends for the wholesome development of my affections, or enemies for my malice."

Restoring Historical Justice: The Nobels and Baku by Anne Thompson.

Villa Petrolea - home to one of the world's oldest oil families and now to one of Baku's newest museums. The Nobel brothers built Villa Petrolea during Baku's first oil boom in the 19th century. It stopped being a family home after the revolution when the Bolsheviks invaded Baku, seized the Nobel family assets and Emanuel Nobel had to flee the country. the restoration and the role of the Nobels in the first Baku oil boom and the development of the oil industry worldwide...

Reference: Tore Frangsmyr

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