Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards given to acknowledge outstanding contribution of individuals to various fields of science, literature and peace. It is given annually and people all over the world are nominated for this prize. Nine Indians have won the Nobel Prize till date. Rabindranath Tagore, the poet, was the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in 1913. Recently, Abhijit Banerjee became a Nobel winner in 2019 for his contribution in Economics. The country which has the maximum number of Nobel Prize winners with 383 Nobel winners is the United States, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany. Both of these nations have 132 winners each.
History of Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize first came into being after being established after the wish of Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel in 1895. From the year of 1901 the Nobel Prize is given for the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physiology or Medicine and Economics. Before 1980 the medals of the Prize were made of 23 carat gold, after that they were of 24 carat gold plated over 18 carat green gold plate.
The Nobel Prize distribution ceremony is held annually in Stockholm of Sweden. Each Nobel laureate or recipient is awarded with a gold medal, a diploma and prize money. In 2017, the Nobel Laureates received prize money of the amount of 9,000,000 SEK.
The Nobel Prize is not awarded to dead people. However, if a candidate wins a prize but somehow dies before physically receiving it, the prize may be presented to his or her representative in his or her name. From the year of 1901 to the year of 2019, the Nobel Prizes also honoured exceptional contributions made in the field of Economics. In this duration, a total of 597 awards were given and 950 people and organisations received the prize.
Countries with Nobel Laureates
Here are a few counties which have received most of the twenty Nobel Prizes:
The United Nations of America has bagged the most number of Nobles at 383 Prizes.
At second place there United Kingdom which has received 132 prizes till date.
At the third position in Germany which has won 102 prizes in various fields.
France is at the fourth place with its citizen having won 69 prizes.
Sweden, the home of Alfred Nobel, has 32 citizens who have won the Nobel Prize.
The Russian Soviet Union has bagged 31 Nobel prizes through the incredible contribution made by her citizen in various disciplines.
Switzerland and Japan follow Russia to the seventh position after winning 28 Noble Prizes each.
Then we have Canada at the eight highest Nobel winners with 27 Nobel Prize winners.
Austria soon follows with 22 Noble winning citizens.
Having won 21 prizes Netherlands is the next country to follow the list.
Finally, Italy has 20 noble winners.
The Noble Prize is considered as the most prestigious prize given in academics. Till today, India has managed to win only 9 prizes. This is a great feat for her citizen but it fails in contrast with the United States of America which has 383 prize winners till date. This must inspire the Indian government and its citizens to push their performance to achieve more prizes.