
The Swedish Nobel family was doing business and loved to invent something. Sweden was not enough for them, so in 1837 Emanuel Nobel moved to Russia and founded a mechanical plant and a company to produce ammunition there. His sons Alfred and Ludvig expanded the family business with the oil and explosive industries. Emanuel Nobel invented underwater mines, Alfred – dynamite and ballistite, while Ludvig was designing machines. Besides, the Swedish Nobel family were very fond of awarding prizes. In 1888, Ludvig established the prize “For the best essay or research in metallurgy or oil industry” in Russia. His son Emanuel Jr. also instituted his prize in 1904. However, these awards are known only to specialists. As for the prizes established by Russian industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel, they are famous all over the world. They are awarded in October – just to commemorate his birthday.