Order Code RS21791 Updated April 25, 2007
.. CRS Report for Congress
The Nobel Prize: Frequently Asked Questions
Barbara Salazar Torreon Information Research Specialist Knowledge Services Group Summary
This report answers the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the Nobel Prizes (chemistry, literature, peace, physics, physiology or medicine, and economics) pertaining to their origin, amount of the monetary prize, nomination procedures, and nationality of the laureates. Included is a select list of sources and contact information for the nomination committees. This report will be updated annually.
What Are the Nobel Prizes and When Are They Awarded?
The Nobel Prizes were established by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish manufacturer of gun powder, in his will in 1901. The will established the Nobel Foundation to administer awards in the five original categories: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. Only one prize has been added since then, the Economics Prize, in 1968 by the Bank of Sweden (Sveriges Riksbank) in memory of Alfred Nobel and to
commemorate the bank's 3 0 0 th anniversary. According to the Nobel Foundation, no additional categories will be added. The prizes are announced annually in early October. All prizes, except for the Peace Prize, are awarded by the King of Sweden in Stockholm during a formal ceremony held annually on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The Peace Prize is awarded separately in Oslo, Norway, on the same date.
Who Are the 2006 Nobel Laureates?
The 2006 Nobel Prize recipients are (in the order announced)' for Physiology or Medicine: Andrew Fire and Craig Mello (both from the United States); for Physics: John Mather and George Smoot (both from the United States); for Chemistry: Roger D. Kornberg (United States); for Economics: Edmund S. Phelps (United States); for Literature:Orhan Pamuk (Turkey); andfor Peace: Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) and the Grameen Bank in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
1For more information on the official announcements by the Nobel Foundation, see the website at [http://nobelprize.org/].
Congressionalo-h earch Service Libr of Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress CRS-2
What Is the Nomination Process for a Nobel Prize? Can Members of Congress Nominate Someone for an Award?
The nomination process varies slightly for each prize category. Persons considered "competent to make such a nomination" can nominate someone in their field by submitting a written proposal. Nominators include members of the literary, political, and scientific communities; Swedish and foreign members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; past Nobel Laureates in their respective field; holders of corresponding scientific and literary chairs in selected Scandinavian universities and institutions; and other nominators worldwide that the Nobel committees may invite to submit recommendations.2
Members of Congress and other members of foreign parliaments worldwide may submit confidential nomination letters for the Nobel Peace Prize to the Norwegian Nobel Committee by February 1 of the year the award is given. The next deadline is February 1, 2008, for the Peace Prize. The Nobel committees are prohibited from releasing the names of any of the nominees, publicly or privately, for a period of 50 years.
Who Selects the Nobel Prize Recipients and How Can They Be Contacted?
Recommendations from the various nominators are forwarded to the prize-awarding institutions, which make the final selections. All decisions are final and cannot be appealed. Listed below is the contact information for the foundation and the prize committees:
Nobel Foundation Nobel Prize for Physics P.O. Box 5232 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Sturegatan 14 P.O. Box 50005 S-102 45 Stockholm, Sweden S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden Nobel Prize for Chemistry Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute P.O. Box 50005 Box 60250 S-1043 05 Stockholm, Sweden S-104 01 Stockholm, Sweden Nobel Prize for Literature Bank of Sweden Prize in Memory of Alfred Swedish Academy Nobel Box 2118 (Nobel for Economics) S-103 13 Stockholm, Sweden Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences P.O. Box 50005 S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden Nobel Prize for Peace Norwegian Nobel Committee 19 Drammensveien N-0255 Oslo 2, Norway
2 For additional information for each category, see the Nomination and Selection of the Nobel Laureates at [http://nobelprize.org/nomination]. CRS-3
What Is the Amount of Each Prize?
The amount of each Nobel Prize for 2006 is valued at 10,000,000 Swedish Krona (Crowns), which is approximately $1.4 million for each prize category.3 In the event of the prize being shared,4 the money is also shared among the recipients. The award also consists of a gold medal and a personal diploma for each recipient.
How Many Nobel Prizes Have Been Awarded Since 1901?
According to the Nobel Foundation, 784 Nobel Prizes have been awarded since its inception in 1901. However, some recipients have received the Prize more than once for a total of 766 individuals and 19 organizations.5
Has the Nobel Prize Ever Been Awarded Posthumously?
The Nobel Prize has been awarded posthumously twice. It was first awarded to writer Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Sweden) for Literature in 1931, and to Dag Hammarskj old (Sweden) for Peace in 1961. Hammarskjold was the U.N. Secretary General when his plane crashed while on a U.N. mission to Africa. Both men, however, were living at the time of their nomination. Posthumous nominations are not accepted.
Has the Nobel Prize Ever Been Rescinded?
No, there is no legal mechanism to revoke or rescind any of the Nobel Prizes since it is not in the charter of any of the Nobel Committees nor in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation. The Prize has never been revoked, and it would require the Foundation to make a controversial exception of a single recipient.
Has Any Nobel Recipient Refused the Prize?
Yes, in October 1973, Henry Kissinger (United States) and Le Duc Tho (Vietnam), were namedj oint recipients of the Peace Prize as the two chief negotiators who succeeded in arranging the cease fire in Vietnam after negotiating for nearly four years. Le Duc Tho refused the prize - the only Peace recipient to have done so - and Kissinger did not receive the prize in person.6 Five others also declined their prizes: Richard Kuhn (Germany) declined the Chemistry Prize in 1938; Adolf Butenandt (Germany) declined the Chemistry Prize in 1939; Gerhard Domagk (Germany) declined the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Boris Pasternak (U.S.S.R.) declined the Literature Prize in 1958; and Jean Paul Sartre (France) declined the Literature Prize in 1964.7
3 Currency conversion of 10,000,000 SEK (Swedish Krona) to $1.4 million U.S. dollars at the Nobel Foundation website at [http://nobelprize.org/nobelprizes/amounts.html]. 4 The statutes of the foundation allow no more than three awards to be given in each category. ' Nobel Laureates Facts at [http://nobelprize.org/nobelprizes/nobelprize facts.html]. 6The Nobel Peace Prize 1973 Website at [http://www.nobel.se/peace/laureates/1973/press.html]. ' The Nobel Prize Frequently Asked Questions at [http://www.nobel.se/help/faq/index.html]. CRS-4
Who Were the Youngest and Oldest Nobel Laureates?
The youngest Nobel Laureate was William Lawrence Bragg (1890-197 1) from the United Kingdom, at age 25 jointly with his father Sir William Henry Bragg for the Prize in Physics in 1915.8 The oldest Nobel Laureates were each 87 years old: Francis Peyton Rous, the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1966; Raymond Davis, Jr., the Nobel Prize in Physics 2002; and Vitaly L. Ginzburg, the Nobel Prize in Physics 2003.
Which U.S. Presidents Have Been Awarded a Nobel Prize?
Three U. S. Presidents have received the Nobel Prize for Peace: Theodore Roosevelt was the first in 1906 for bringing to an end the war between Japan and Russia; Woodrow Wilson in 1919 for founding the League of Nations after World War I; and Jimmy Carter in 2002 for his efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts and to advance democracy and human rights worldwide. Which Nations Have the Most Laureates and How Many Are from the United States?
According to the Nobel Foundation, there is no comprehensive list of Nobel Laureates by nationality. The foundation had previously maintained a list of recipients by nationality, however, it was determined to be incomplete and full of errors. There is no current list that reflects accurately all the laureates and their native countries.9 Who Was the First Woman to Receive a Nobel Prize?
Marie Sklodowska Curie (France) was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize. She was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband Pierre in recognition of theirjoint research on radiation. In 1911, Madame Curie received a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. She was the first laureate to receive a Nobel in two prize categories and the only female double laureate. The Curies were also the first married Nobel Laureates." How Many Women Are Nobel Laureates and What Are Their Nationalities?
Currently, 34 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to women. There were no female Nobel Laureates for 2006. However, there are only 33 actual Nobel Laureates because
8 The Braggs were the only father and son Nobel laureates to share the prize. For more information on family laureates, see Burton Feldman, The Nobel Prize: A History of Genius, Controversy and Prestige (New York: Arcade Publishing, 2000), Appendix D, p. 405, and the Nobel Prize FAQs website at [http://nobelprize.org/contact/faq/index.html]. 9 Information provided originally to CRS via e-mail correspondence with Ulrika Royen at the Nobel Foundation in October 2004, and reconfirmed in subsequent emails on September 7,2006. 10 A second husband-and- wife research team to jointly receive a Nobel Prize were Amenicans Carl and Gerty Cori for Medicine in 1947. Feldman, The Nobel Prize, Appendix D, p. 405. CRS-5
Madame Curie is a double laureate for Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911). They are listed chronologically by category except for Economics, which a woman has yet to win.11
" Chemistry (3): Marie Curie (France) in 1911; Irene Joliet-Curie (France) in 1935; and Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (United Kingdom) in 1964
" Literature (10): Selma Lagerlof (Sweden) in 1909; Grazia Deledda (Italy) in 1926; Sigrid Undset (Norway) in 1928; Pearl Buck (United States) in 1938; Gabriela Mistral (Chile) in 1945; Nelly Sachs (Germany- Sweden) in 1966; Nadine Gordimer (South Africa) in 1991; Toni Morrison (United States) in 1993; Wislawa Szymborska (Poland) in 1996; and Elfriede Jelinek (Austria) in 2004
" Medicine or Physiology (7): Gerty Coi (United States) in 1947; Rosalyn Yalow (United States) in 1977; Barbara McClintock (United States) in 1983; Rita Levi-Montalcini (Italy-United States) in 1986; Gertrude Elion (United States) in 1988; Christiane Nusslein-Volhard (Germany) in 1995; and Linda B. Buck (United States) in 2004
" Peace (12): Baroness Bertha von Suttner (Austria) in 1904; Jane Addams (United States) in 1932; Emily Greene Balch (United States) in 1946; Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan (Northern Ireland, United Kingdom) jointly in 1976; Mother Teresa (India)12 in 1979; Alva Myrdal (Sweden) in 1982; Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma) in 1991; Rigoberta Mench6i (Guatemala) in 1992; Jody Williams (United States) in 1997; Shirin Ebadi (Iran) in 2003; and Wangari Maathai (Kenya) in 200413
" Physics (2): Marie Curie (France) in 1903; and Maria Goeppert Mayer (United States) in 1963
Who Is the Only Person Awarded Two Unshared Nobel Prizes?
Linus Pauling (United States) received the 1954 Chemistry Prize and 1962 Peace Prize.
Which Nobel Peace Laureates also Received Major Congressional and Presidential Awards?
Peace Laureates Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964), Mother Teresa (1979), and Nelson Mandela (1993) have also been honored in the United States. Dr. King's
1 Feldman, The Nobel Prize, Appendix C: Women Laureates, pp. 403-404; and Female Nobel Prize Laureates from the Nobel Prize Website at [http://nobelprize.org/nobelprizes/lists/ women.html]. There were no female recipients in 2006. 12 Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Yugoslavia (in what is now Macedonia). However, she is listed under India for her nationality because of her lifelong work in Calcutta. She died on Sept. 5, 1997. 13 Wangari Maathai is the first woman from Africa to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. She is also the first African laureate from the vast area between South Africa and Egypt. CRS-6 posthumous Congressional Gold Medal was approved October 25, 2004 (P.L. 108-368). Mother Teresa received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985, and her Congressional Gold Medal was approved on June 2, 1997 (P.L. 105-16), in recognition of her humanitarian and charitable activities. The Congressional Gold Medal for then South African President Nelson Mandela was approved on July 29, 1998 (P.L. 105-215), in recognition of his life-long dedication to the abolition of apartheid and the promotion of reconciliation among the people of South Africa. Selected Sources
Abrams, Irwin. The Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates:An IllustratedBiographical History, 1901-2001. Nantucket, MA: Science History Publications/USA, 2001.
Bruck, Connie. "Millions for Millions: This year's Nobel Peace Prize winner and some high-tech entrepreneurs are competing to provide credit to the world's poor," New Yorker, October 30, 2006: 62-73. Discussion of Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus creation of microcredit and the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.
Feldman, Burton. The Nobel Prize: A History of Genius, Controversy, and Prestige. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2000.
Hargittai, Istvin. The Road to Stockholm: NobelPrizes,Science, andScientists. London: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Hertzberg, Hendrik. "Talk of the Town: He's No. 19," New Yorker, October 28, 2002: 41. Discussion of Jimmy Carter's 2002 Nobel Peace Prize and all 19 American Nobel Peace Laureates.
Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin, and Nils Ringertz, eds. The Nobel Prize: The First 100 Years. London: Imperial College Press, 2001.
Rich, Mari, ed. NobelPrize Winners, 1997-2001, Supplement. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 2002. Websites
Nobel Prize [http://nobelprize.org]
Nobel Prize Internet Archive [http://www.almaz.com/nobel/nobel.html]