Noble Prize & Laureates 

In various competitive exams, Static GK and Current Affairs, questions always come from the Nobel Prize. Questions are asked from various topics like the history of the Nobel Prize, who, when, in what subject won the Nobel Prize, etc. If you have a detailed understanding of the topic, it becomes easy to answer all these questions. So, in the post titled Noble Prize & Laureates Detail Explanations, I have presented all the important information related to the Nobel Prize. Often, one or two questions come from this section. Stay with us for regular updates and continue your preparation.

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 [Detailed Explanation of the Noble Prize & Laureates]

Preface: The Nobel Prize is a first-class award in the world’s awards. This award was started in 1901. The award was given by the Swedish chemist, engineer and inventor of dynamite Alfred Bernhard Nobel according to his will signed on November 27, 1895, and the award was named after him as “Nobel Prize”. Alfred Nobel discovered dynamite as a result of his research. He patented his invention in Great Britain in 1867 and in the United States in 1868. His invention soon reached the peak of fame and made him the owner of a huge property. Dynamite was used for explosions in various fields and the world was terrified by its power. In 1888, after the death of Alfred Nobel’s brother Ludwig Nobel, a French newspaper published a sketch of Alfred under the headline “The Merchant of Death is dead.” Alfred, 55, realized the importance of the news and realized that this is how the world would remember him in the future for his invention of dynamite. Out of this fear, he donated 94% of his acquired property (31 million Swedish kronor) in his will just before his death and expressed his desire to award the “Nobel Prize” with that money. Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1895, and after his death, the Nobel Foundation was established on June 29, 1900 with the help of Swedish chemists Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist. This foundation initiated the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Prize in Literature, and five Nobel Prizes in the fields of physics, chemistry, and medicine. The next year, i.e. in 1901, the Nobel Prize was awarded for the first time, on the day of Alfred Nobel’s death, i.e. on December 10. Since 1969, the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been in use. Sweden awards the Nobel Prize in all categories except the Peace Prize, and Norway awards the Nobel Prize in Peace.

Noble Prize & Laureates

🔘 Distribution of Nobel Prizes: In these 125 years from 1901 to 2025, a total of 633 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 1026 people in 6 categories, including a total of 990 individuals and 28 organizations. Out of the 990 individuals, 67 are women and 897 are men. Among the 6 categories of the Nobel Prize, 119 Nobel Prizes have been awarded in Physics to a total of 230 people. 117 Nobel Prizes have been awarded in Chemistry to a total of 200 people. In medicine, 116 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to a total of 232 people. In literature, 118 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to a total of 122 people. In peace, 107 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to a total of 112 individuals and 28 organizations. The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 28 organizations a total of 29 times, of which one organization has been awarded the Nobel twice and one organization has been awarded the Nobel Prize three times. In economic sciences, 57 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to a total of 99 people. A total of 49 Nobel Prizes have not been awarded in different categories.
The Nobel Prize recipients are awarded a gold medal weighing 175 grams, 66 mm in diameter and 5.2-2.4 mm thick, a certificate of unique craftsmanship and 6,09,62,357 Indian rupees for each category. This money is divided among the winners in that category. The medal bears the portrait and name of Alfred Nobel.

🔘 Nobel laureates and interesting facts: i) The first woman to win a Nobel Prize was: Polish-Parisian physicist Marie Sklodowska Curie, who won the first prize jointly in 1903.
ii) Marie Curie was also the first woman to win two Nobel Prizes. She won the Nobel Prize jointly in Physics in 1903 and the second time in Chemistry in 1911.
iii) The oldest Nobel laureate to date is: American-born German chemist John B. Goodenough, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019 at the age of 97.
iv) The youngest Nobel laureate to date is: Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani citizen, who won the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Indian citizen Kailash Satyarthi in 2014.
v) So far, three men and one woman have won the Nobel Prize twice. In addition, one organization has won two and three Nobel Prizes.
vi) The first man to win two Nobel Prizes was American scientist Linus Carl Pauling. He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the first time in 1954 and for Peace for the second time in 1962. He is the only person in the history of Nobel to win two prizes alone.
vii) The second man to win two Nobel Prizes was American engineer and physicist John Bardeen, who won the Nobel Prize jointly in Physics for the first time in 1956 and for the second time in 1972.
viii) The third man to win two Nobel Prizes was British biochemist Frederick Sanger, who won the Nobel Prize jointly in Chemistry for the first time in 1958 and for the second time in 1980.
ix) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the organization that has been awarded the Nobel Prize the most times. The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944 and 1963. Noble Prize & Laureates
x) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the second organization to be awarded the Nobel Prize twice. This organization won the Nobel Peace Prize for the first time in 1954 and the second time in 1981.
xi) Only two people have received the Nobel Prize posthumously, they are: The first is the Swedish writer Erik Axel Karlfeldt, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1931 for his “The poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt”.
The second is the UN Secretary General and Swedish citizen Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961. Posthumous Nobel Prizes were discontinued in 1974.
xiii) 13 families in the world have won the Nobel Prize more than once. The most successful of these is the Curie family. Noble Prize & Laureates
xii) The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is known as The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences.

Nobel Prizes in Various Subjects: Currently, Nobel Prizes are awarded in 6 subjects based on the best work. This prize is sometimes given singly, sometimes jointly to two or three people. If you search for Nobel Prizes in various subjects, you will see –

i) Nobel Prize in Physics: 119 Nobels have been awarded in Physics till now (2025). A total of 230 people have won Nobel Prizes in this field. Out of these, 47 people have won Nobel Prizes individually. 33 Nobels have been given to two people and 39 Nobels have been given to three people jointly.
💠 Five women have won the Nobel Prize in Physics: Marie Curie (1903), Maria Goeppert Meyer (1963), Donna Strickland (2018), André Ghez (2020) and Anne L’Houillier (2023).
💠 The only person to win the Nobel Prize in Physics twice is John Bardeen, who won the prize in 1956 and 1972.
💠 The only pair to win the Nobel Prize in Physics were Marie Curie and Pierre Curie in 1903.
💠 The father-son Nobel Prize winners in Physics are: William Bragg and Lawrence Bragg, who won the Nobel Prize together in 1915; Niels Bohr, who won the Nobel Prize in 1922, and his son Aage N. Bohr, who won the Nobel Prize in 1975; Manne Siegbahn, who won the Nobel Prize in 1924, and his son Kai M. Siegbahn, who won the Nobel Prize in 1981; J. J. Thomson, who won the Nobel Prize in 1906, and his son George Paget Thomson, who won the Nobel Prize in 1937, etc.
💠 The youngest person to win the Nobel Prize in Physics is William Lawrence Bragg, who won the Nobel Prize in 1915 at the age of 25.
💠 The oldest person to win the Nobel Prize in Physics is Arthur Ashkin, who won the Nobel Prize in 2018 at the age of 96. Noble Prize & Laureates
💠 The Nobel Prize in Physics was not awarded in 1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941 and 1942, i.e. a total of 6 times.

ii) Nobel Prize in Chemistry: 117 Nobel Prizes have been awarded in Chemistry till now (2025). A total of 200 people have won Nobel Prizes in that field. Out of these, 64 have won the Nobel Prize individually. 24 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to two people and 28 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to three people jointly.
💠 The youngest person to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is Frédéric Joliot who won the Nobel Prize in 1935 at the age of 35.
💠 The oldest person to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is John B. Goodenough who won the Nobel Prize in 2019 at the age of 97.
💠 So far, 8 women have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, they are: Marie Curie (1911), Irène Joliot-Curie (1935), Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1964), Ada Yonath (2009), Frances H. Arnold (2018), Emmanuelle Charpentier (2020), Jennifer A. Doudna (2020), Carolyn Bertozzi (2022) etc.
Of these, Marie Curie and Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alone.
💠 The person who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice is: Frederick Sanger, who won this prize for the first time in 1958 and the second time in 1980.
💠 The Nobel Prize in this field was not awarded in 1916, 1917, 1919, 1924, 1933, 1940, 1941, 194 i.e. a total of eight times.

iii) Nobel Prize in Medicine: 116 Nobel Prizes have been awarded in medicine till now (2025). A total of 232 people have won the Nobel Prize in this field. Of these, 40 have won the Nobel Prize individually. 36 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to two people and 40 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to three people jointly.

💠 To date, a total of 14 women have won the Nobel Prize in Medicine: Gerty Cori (1947), Rosalyn Yalow (1977), Barbara McClintock (1983), Rita Levi-Montalcini (1986), Gertrude B. Elion (1988), Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (1995), Linda B. Buck (2004), Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (2008), Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider (2009), May-Britt Moser (2014), Tu Youyou (2015), Katalin Karikó (2023) and Mary E. Brunkow (2025).
Of these, only Barbara McClintock has won the prize alone.
💠 No person has won the Nobel Prize in this category twice and no person has been awarded the Nobel Prize posthumously.
💠 Two couples have won the Nobel Prize in this category, the first of which was Gerty Cori and Carl Cori, who won the Nobel Prize in this category in 1947. The second pair was
May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser, who won the Nobel Prize in 2014.
💠 The youngest person to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine is Frederick Banting, who won the Nobel Prize in 1923 at the age of 32.
💠 The oldest person to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine is Peyton Rous, who won the Nobel Prize in 1966 at the age of 87. Noble Prize & Laureates
💠 Nobel Prize has not been awarded in this field 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1940, 1941, 1942

iv) Nobel Prize in Literature: In Physics, 118 Nobel Prizes have been awarded till now (2025). A total of 122 people have won Nobel Prizes in this field. Out of these, 114 people have won Nobel Prizes individually. 4 Nobel Prizes have been awarded jointly to two people each. No Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded jointly to three people.
💠 A total of 18 women have won the Nobel Prize in Literature, including: Selma Lagerlöf (1909), Grazia Deledda (1926), Sigrid Undset (1928), Pearl Buck (1938), Gabriela Mistral (1945), Nelly Sachs (1966), Nadine Gordimer (1991), Toni Morrison (1993), Wislawa Szymborska (1996), Elfriede Jelinek (2004), Doris Lessing (2007), Herta Müller (2009), Alice Munro (2013), Svetlana Alexievich (2015), Olga Tokarczuk (2018), Louise Glück (2020), Annie Ernaux (2022), Han Kang (2025), etc.

💠 The youngest person to win the Nobel Prize in Literature is Rudyard Kipling, who won the Nobel Prize in 1907 at the age of 41.
💠 The oldest person to win the Nobel Prize in Literature is Doris Lessing, who won the Nobel Prize in 2007 at the age of 88.
💠 Boris Pasternak of the Soviet Union declined the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958 and Jean Paul Sartre in 1964.
💠 Erik Axel Karlfeldt was awarded the Nobel Prize posthumously in this category in 1931.
💠 The Nobel Prize was not awarded in this category in 1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, i.e. a total of seven times. Noble Prize & Laureates

▶ Nobel Prize recipients in Literature who were members of the Swedish Academy:
🔹Selma Lagerlof was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1909 and became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1914.

🔹Verner von Heidenstam served as a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912 to 1940 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1916.

🔹Erik Axel Karlfeldt served as a member of the Swedish Academy from 1904 to 1931 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature posthumously in 1931.

🔹Par Lagerkvist served as a member of the Swedish Academy from 1940 to 1971 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1951.

🔹Harry Martinson served as a member of the Swedish Academy from 1949 to 1978 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974.

🔹Eyvind Johnson served as a member of the Swedish Academy from 1957 to 1976 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974.

Noble Prize & Laureates

▶ Pseudonyms of Nobel Prize winners:

🔹Sully Prudhomme: Pseudonym – René François Armand Prudhomme

🔹Anatole France: Pseudonym – Jacques Anatole Thibault

🔹Wladyslaw Reymont: Pseudonym – Rejment Noble Prize & Laureates

🔹Grazia Deledda: Pseudonym – Grazia Madesani, née Deledda

🔹Pearl Buck: Pseudonym – Pearl Walsh, née Sydenstricker

🔹Gabriela Mistral: Pseudonym – Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga

🔹Saint-John Perse: Pseudonym – Alexis Léger

🔹Giorgos Seferis: Pseudonym – Giorgos Seferiadis Noble Prize & Laureates

🔹Pablo Neruda: Pseudonym – Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto

🔹Odysseus Elytis: Pseudonym – Odysseus Alepoudhelis

🔹Mo Yan: Pseudonym – Guan Moye

v) In peace Nobel: 106 Nobel Prizes have been awarded in the field of peace so far (2025). A total of 112 individuals and 28 organizations (31 times) have won the Nobel Prize in this field. Of these, 72 have won the Nobel Prize individually. 31 Nobels have been awarded to two individuals and 3 Nobels have been awarded to three individuals jointly. Noble Prize & Laureates Noble Prize & Laureates
💠 To date, a total of 20 women have won the Nobel Peace Prize, including Bertha von Suttner (1905), Jane Addams (1931), Emily Greene Balch (1946), Betty Williams (1976), Mairead Corrigan (1976), Mother Teresa (1979), Alva Myrdal (1982), Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), Rigoberta Menchu ​​Tum (1992), Jody Williams (1997), Shirin Ebadi (2003), Wangari Maathai (2004), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2011), Leymah Gbowee (2011), Tawakkol Karman (2011), Malala Yousafzai (2014), Nadia Murad (2018), Maria Ressa (2021), Narges Mohammadi (2023) and Maria Corina Machado (2025).
💠 The only person to refuse the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 was Vietnamese political leader Le Duc Tho.

💠 The people who were imprisoned at the time of the Nobel Peace Prize were: German journalist Carl von Ossietzky, Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi and Chinese human rights official Liu Xiaobo.
💠 The only person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously in 1961 was Dag Hammarskjöld.
💠 The youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize is Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel in 2014 at the age of 17.
💠 The oldest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize is Joseph Rotblat, who won the Nobel in 1995 at the age of 87.
💠 The Nobel Prize in Peace has not been awarded in 1914, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1967, 1972, i.e. a total of 19 times. Noble Prize & Laureates

vi) Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences: 57 Nobel Prizes have been awarded in Economic Sciences till (2025). A total of 99 people have won the Nobel Prize in that field. Out of these, 26 people have won the Nobel Prize individually. 20 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to two people and 11 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to three people jointly. This prize has been awarded every year since the award was started till 2025.
💠 So far, three women have won this prize: Elinor Ostrom who won the Nobel in 2009, Esther Duflo who won the Nobel in 2019 and Claudia Goldin who won the Nobel in 2023.
💠 The youngest person to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is Esther Duflo who won the Nobel in 2019 at the age of 46. Noble Prize & Laureates
💠 The oldest person to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is Leonid Hurwicz who won the Nobel in 2007 at the age of 90.

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