Nobel Prize Trivia

Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have crowned the world's most consequential scientists, writers, and peacemakers — and picked up a few oddities and controversies along the way. This quiz tests how well you know the prize born from a dynamite fortune.

From Dynamite to a Legacy of Peace

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and built an industrial empire selling explosives, which made a premature obituary that mistakenly ran during his lifetime, branding him a "merchant of death," all the more unsettling. His actual will, written in 1895, redirected the bulk of his fortune into prizes rewarding those who had done the greatest good for humanity.

Categories and Ceremonies

The original 1901 prizes covered Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. Economic Sciences joined the lineup in 1968, funded by Sweden's central bank rather than Nobel's estate. Every category is decided and awarded in Stockholm except one: the Peace Prize, which is selected by a Norwegian committee and handed out in Oslo, a nod to the political union Norway and Sweden shared when Nobel wrote his will.

Record-Setters and Surprises

• Marie Curie — first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only person to win Nobels in two different sciences
• Linus Pauling — the sole laureate with two unshared Nobel Prizes
• Malala Yousafzai — youngest laureate ever, honored at just 17
• The International Committee of the Red Cross — a three-time Peace Prize winner