The Nobel Prizes were established by Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor. In 1866, he happened upon a cask of highly explosive -- and therefore dangerous -- nitroglycerine which had been leaking onto some clay-like material. The nitroglycerine-soaked material was still dry in texture and was stable against unplanned explosions. The explosion could nevertheless be triggered by a detonation cap. Nobel consequently invents dynamite . (Hence, the icon above.) Nobel accumulates a fortune and bequeeths it to establish the annual prizes in his name for peace, literature, physics, chemistry and physiology. (The sixth prize, in economics, was not begun until 1969 and is separately funded.) The Nobel Institute in Sweden is named for him as is element number 102 in the second f-block, inner transition element series.The first prizes were offered in 1901.

2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to two former Carnegie Mellon faculty

1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry