The Nobel Prizes are awarded for Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace and Physiology or Medicine. These first five prizes were instated in 1895 through the will of the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel. A further unofficial but associated prize for Economics was added in 1968 by Sweden’s National bank. The Nobel prizes are widely seen as one of the highest accolades anyone could receive for their work in serving humanity. Traditionally the prizewinners are announced throughout the month of October. All of the prizes are handed out on December 10th in Sweden with the exception of the Nobel Prize for peace that is awarded at a ceremony in Norway.
As the announcement for this years’ award winners is almost upon us it is interesting to consider the material that the Spoken Word’s repository holds in relation to the Nobel Prize.
The first programme highlights the work of one of Britain’s greatest Nobel Prize winners, Philip Noel-Baker. As well as winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959 Noel-Baker was also a politician, diplomat, academic and an amateur athlete that ran at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games and was manager of the British track team at both the 1920 and 1924 Olympics. The takes the form of an interview with Noel-Baker that charts his varied life experiences.
The second programme available on the repository that concerns the Nobel Prize is a set of interviews with four British Nobel Prize winners. The interviews are extremely interesting and give an insight into the work and minds behind the winning of a Nobel Prize.
Photo Courtesy of: David Monniaux in compliance with Wikipedia fair-use terms
