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    Nobel Prize Winners

    You’ve finally arrived in Stockholm and checked in at the beautiful Grand Hotel, overlooking the Royal Palace, and got to meet your fellow Nobel Prize recipients. They seem to be a very nice bunch of people, not at all the nerdy eggheads you had expected! One of them is not there but in another city altogether, however. He/She/They is/are apparently doing an interview with CNN’s Jonathan Mann at the moment. In which category is the winner we are talking about? Congratulations! You’ve Won the Nobel Prize! (jensj2)

      Peace. It has become a yearly tradition that Mr. Mann interviews the Peace prizewinner. The science laureates are usually also interviewed as a group, and the program is distributed worldwide.

    You’ve enjoyed the sights, you like your hotel, and you think you’ve seen all there is too see in this beautiful Northern capital by the Baltic Sea… Until you’re awakened on the morning of the thirteenth of December by a knock on the door. In marches a strange procession headed by a beautiful blonde young lady with a crown of burning candles, followed by other girls and boys wearing cones on their heads, singing a traditional Italian fishermen’s song! The bellboy tells you that this is all right; it is, improbably enough, an ancient Swedish tradition in which the 'leading girl' impersonates Saint Lucia, once beheaded on a Mediterranean island. Which island, exactly?Congratulations! You’ve Won the Nobel Prize! (jensj2)

      Sicily. This may all sound very strange, but it’s true; many laureates do get the shock of their lives! She is the patron saint of Syracuse and suffered a martyr’s death in 304. Don’t ask me how she ended up in Sweden in the wintertime, but I guess it has to do with the need to celebrate the absent light, because that’s what the translated lyrics are all about. If you ever wish to move a Swedish expatriate to tears, anywhere in the world, try humming a few bars of ‘Sul mare luccica …’ over a shot of vodka and a piece of gingerbread!

    You have just returned from your morning jogging session when your spouse suddenly calls out from the kitchen: ‘Honey, you have a telephone call from Stockholm!’ Your heart starts pounding all over again. Could it be …? Knowing that your spouse is a big fan of practical jokes, though, you can never be too sure. Then again, the time of year is just right, judging by your colleagues’ chatter during lunch breaks… In which month are the names of the Nobel Prize winners always announced? Congratulations! You’ve Won the Nobel Prize! (jensj2)

      October. The great day when you will get to receive your medal, diploma and a good deal of applause is December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. It is an official flag-flying day in Sweden, a day when even the smallest municipal bus is decorated with the yellow cross on blue background. In the early days of the prize, the winner was actually announced on stage on that very day, ‘Survivor’-style. I guess somebody realized the publicity value would be even greater if you can get all the world media to talk about it a couple of months beforehand!

    Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953?Nobel Peace Prize Winners 1945-70 (Vermic)

      George Catlett Marshall. George Catlett Marshall, general, President American Red Cross, ex-Secretary of State and of Defense, delegate to the U.N. and originator of the Marshall Plan.

    What world organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 for its work in helping children around the world?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      UNICEF. UNICEF stands for the 'United Nations Children's Fund'.

    What was the name of the Burmese (Myanmar) woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, and later was imprisoned for her protests of the Burmese government?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, the 'father of the country' according to many Burmese. Unfortunately, Aung San was killed before Burma was officially made independent. Suu Kyi has worked toward pressuring the omnipresent military regime to open up Burmese politics to a more pluralistic form, but she has not quite been successful yet.

    What Secretary-General of the United Nations won the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously in 1961, after he had died in a plane crash?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      Dag Hammarskjold. Hammarskjold opposed the British during the 1956 Suez Crisis and was attempting to mediate the crisis in Zaire when he died in a plane crash...how tragic!

    What international organization won Nobel Peace Prizes during both World War 1 (1917) and World War 2 (1944) for its work in caring for the casualties of war?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      The Red Cross. The International Red Cross was founded by Jean Henri Dunant, a Swiss philanthropist, in 1864 during the Geneva Convention. He had tended to the wounded during the Battle of Solverino in 1859, leading to the founding of this wonderful international body. Clara Barton was the founder of the American Red Cross.

    Well, just you sit back and bask in the glory and wait for the trip to a wintry Scandinavia. It’s all paid for, and you can bring all the members of your family! There’s just one little request, clothes-wise, that you’ll have to think about before leaving. During the ceremony you will be required to wear …?Congratulations! You’ve Won the Nobel Prize! (jensj2)

      Tailcoat/Evening dress. If you’re like me, you don’t have a tailcoat in your wardrobe at the moment. It can be hired for the occasion, though! I had to do it once (on a completely different occasion) and it does get kind of non-comfy after only half an hour. No wonder the collar is called the ‘father killer’ in Swedish … Women escape this problem, but have a harder time choosing their dress, of course. There are very few exceptions to this rule. In 1982, Colombian Literary Nobel Gabriel García Márquez got away with wearing a folk costume, claiming that not even the Nobel Prize would make him wear a tailcoat…

    This Polish trade-union leader won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 in part for his 'solidarnosc' movement. What was his name?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      Lech Walesa. English speakers know the movement better as 'Solidarity', a confederation of trade unions. This movement changed the political system in Poland forever, helping transition the country toward a pluralistic government.

    This man won the prize in 1960. He was the President of the South African liberation movement, the African National Congres. His name is?Nobel Peace Prize Winners 1945-70 (Vermic)

      Albert John Lutuli.

    This man won the prize in 1952. He was a missionary, a surgeon and the founder of the Lambarene Hospital in the Republic du Gabon. His name is?Nobel Peace Prize Winners 1945-70 (Vermic)

      Albert Schweitzer.

    This man was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a campaigner for civil rights. He won the prize in 1964. His name is?Nobel Peace Prize Winners 1945-70 (Vermic)

      Martin Luther King Jr..

    This famous U.S. chemist not only won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in 1954, but also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his outspoken opposition of nuclear testing. Who was he?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      Linus Pauling. Pauling not only worked on discovering the nature of chemical bonds, and discovering that many proteins contained helical structures, but also was a tireless spokesman against nuclear testing...good man!

    The prize winner is from Belgium. He's a father of the Dominican Order, leader of the relief organization for refugees, L'Europe du Coeur au Service du Monde. His name is?Nobel Peace Prize Winners 1945-70 (Vermic)

      Georges Henri Pire.

    The Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1979 was ethnically Albanian (born in what was then the Ottoman Empire, and her real name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. By what name was she universally known?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      Mother Theresa. Mother Theresa did wonderful work during her lifetime helping abandoned children and the dying in Calcutta. She founded her Missionaries of Charity there in 1948, after becoming an Indian citizen!

    The 1999 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Physics is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Gerardus 't Hooft. 't Hooft won the Prize together with Martinus Veltman

    The 1995 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Paul Crutzen.

    The 1975 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Economics is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Tjalling C. Koopmans.

    The 1969 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Economics is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Jan Tinbergen.

    The 1929 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Christiaan Eijkman.

    The 1924 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Willem Einthoven.

    The 1913 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Physics is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Heike Kamerlingh-Onnes.

    The 1902 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Physics is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Pieter Zeeman.

    The 1901 Dutch Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry is?Dutch Nobel Prize Winners (Vermic)

      Jacobus Henricus Van 't Hoff.

    So one of the Nobel laureates never receives the prize in Stockholm. You ask yourself, with some anxiety, where exactly the missing laureate is at this moment, with the ceremony about to begin. Where on earth is he or she being honored?Congratulations! You’ve Won the Nobel Prize! (jensj2)

      Oslo, Norway. At the time of the making of Nobel’s will, Sweden and Norway were a united kingdom (they separated in 1905). Just why Nobel wanted the peace prize to be decided by the Norwegians is open to speculation. It is awarded on the same day as in Stockholm, and it usually is a great show, with top entertainers and all.

    So it was not a practical joke, and the prize is finally yours! You celebrate in the company of your family with a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Sitting there in your kitchen, you picture to yourself all the brand new stainless steel utensils you will be able to purchase once you’ve changed your Swedish kronor into your own currency. In 2005, what was the approximate value of a Nobel Prize in US dollars?Congratulations! You’ve Won the Nobel Prize! (jensj2)

      $1,300,000. I have to admit that this question is not altogether clear-cut, because the amount of money is not fixed from year to year (nor is the exchange rate). Hope you got it by the method of elimination! The Nobel Foundation is the institution that manages the assets left by Nobel in his last will. The rules by which it is allowed by the government to invest the money have changed over the years, and thanks to skill and luck the amount to hand out to the laureates is nowadays greater than ever. If you’re really unlucky, you are not the only recipient of the year in your category. The overall money stays the same; you are to going to have to share it!

    Much to the chagrin of the Chinese government, this exiled leader won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Who was he?Interesting Nobel Peace Prize Winners (thejazzkickazz)

      Dalai Lama. The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner was none other than the 14th incarnation of his holiness, the Dalai Lama. He was forced into exile in 1959 from Tibet when the Communist Chinese seized control of the country. From that time on, he worked without end toward promoting world peace in the typical Buddhist non-violent manner. The Dalai Lama set up a Tibetan government in exile in Dharmsala India, where he has continuously worked toward regaining Tibet's independence.

    It’s December 10th and time for the ceremony … You gather at the Stockholm Concert Hall, take your seats, and wait for your turn to step up to receive a medal and a nice diploma from a bejewelled person already standing on the floor. Who is this individual?Congratulations! You’ve Won the Nobel Prize! (jensj2)

      The Swedish monarch. Alfred Nobel’s will doesn’t stipulate the details of the ceremony, but the Swedish government and the Royal House were quick to join the occasion, and the Head of State has been inextricably linked to the prize since the very beginning. It is, of course, a great yearly PR opportunity for Sweden as a country.

    In what year did Yasunari Kawabata win the Nobel Prize?Nobel Prize Winners Literature 1936-1970 (Vermic)

      1968. Yasunari Kawabata for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility express the essence of the Japanese mind.

    In what year did William Butler Yeats win the Nobel Prize?Nobel Prize Winners Literature 1901-1935 (Vermic)

      1923. William Butler Yeats for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.

Frequently Asked Questions about Nobel Prize Winners

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