# Canonical recap data for Nobel Prize Awards First Ceremony (1901)
# Source: https://recap.at/1901/nobel-prize-first
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: nobel-prize-first
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1901/nobel-prize-first"
title: Nobel Prize Awards First Ceremony
aliases:
- First Nobel Prize Awards
- Nobel Prize Ceremony 1901
- Inaugural Nobel Prizes
subtitle: Alfred Nobel's bequest established the world's most prestigious scientific and peace honors, honoring breakthrough human achievement.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1901-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1901
decade: 1900
country:
name: Sweden
slug: sweden
summaryShort: "The Nobel Prizes are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of \"for the greatest benefit to humankind\". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The original Nobel Prizes covered five fields: physics, chemistry, physi"
summaryLong: "The Nobel Prizes are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of \"for the greatest benefit to humankind\". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The original Nobel Prizes covered five fields: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace, specified in Nobel's will. A sixth prize, the Prize in Economic Sciences, was established in 1968 by Sveriges Riksbank in memory of Alfred Nobel. The Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards available in their respective fields."
lede: On December 10, 1901, Sweden handed out the first Nobel Prizes—a new awards program bankrolled by the fortune of dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel, who had died five years earlier. The ceremony established what would become one of the world's most prestigious honors, initially recognizing achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/AlfredNobel_adjusted.jpg/1280px-AlfredNobel_adjusted.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Gösta Florman (1831–1900) / The Royal Library · via Wikipedia
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date of first ceremony
  value: December 10, 1901
- label: Location
  value: Stockholm Concert Hall, Sweden
- label: Prize categories
  value: 5 (physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace)
- label: Years since Alfred Nobel's death
  value: 5 years
- label: Physics prize winner
  value: Wilhelm Röntgen
- label: Chemistry prize winner
  value: Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff
- label: Physiology or Medicine prize winner
  value: Emil Adolf von Behring
- label: Literature prize winner
  value: Sully Prudhomme
timeline:
- date: 1895-11-27
  title: Alfred Nobel writes final will
  description: Alfred Nobel signs his will in Paris, directing his fortune to establish prizes for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. The will stipulates annual awards for work 'for the greatest benefit to humankind.'
- date: 1896-12-10
  title: Alfred Nobel dies
  description: Swedish inventor and dynamite manufacturer Alfred Nobel dies in San Remo, Italy, at age 63. His will and its ambitious prize vision become public knowledge.
- date: 1900-01-29
  title: Swedish King approves Nobel Foundation
  description: King Oscar II of Sweden gives formal approval for the establishment of the Nobel Foundation to administer the prizes according to Nobel's will.
- date: 1901-06-29
  title: Nobel Foundation statutes ratified
  description: The Norwegian Nobel Committee and Swedish Academy are formally designated to select laureates in peace and literature respectively, with Swedish institutions handling physics and chemistry.
- date: 1901-12-10
  title: First Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony
  description: The inaugural Nobel Prize ceremony takes place in Stockholm Concert Hall. Wilhelm Röntgen (physics), Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (chemistry), Emil Adolf von Behring (physiology/medicine), Sully Prudhomme (literature), and Jean Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy (peace) are honored.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize"
  title: Nobel Prize
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The 1901 Nobel Prize ceremony created the template for honoring intellectual and humanitarian achievement that persists today. By converting a industrialist's fortune into institutional prizes guided by explicit principles rather than patronage whim, it established a model that would shape how societies recognize excellence across disciplines for over a century.
categories:
- award
- festival
taxonomy:
domain: scientific
eventTypes:
- nobel_prize
canonicalClasses:
- celebration
- creation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Sweden on December 10, 1901, honoring breakthroughs in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.
wikidataQid: Q7191
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260608153216/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-08
  label: Nobel Prize
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize"
