The Nobel Prizes were established in the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and the inventor of dynamite.

Nobel bequeathed his vast fortune to create a series of prizes for those who confer the 'greatest benefit on mankind.'

His motivation was reportedly a desire to leave a better legacy after reading a premature obituary that condemned him as a 'merchant of death.'

The five original prizes are in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.

The Prize in Economic Sciences was established later, in 1968, by Sweden's central bank in memory of Nobel.

The prizes have been awarded annually since 1901.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a Norwegian committee in Oslo, while the other prizes are awarded by Swedish institutions in Stockholm.

Each recipient, known as a laureate, receives a gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary award.

Notable laureates include Marie Curie (who won in two different scientific fields), Albert Einstein, and Martin Luther King Jr.

The Nobel Prize is widely considered the most prestigious award in the world in its respective fields.