Alfred Nobel, who set aside $9 million in 1901 for annual prizes in important fields, gained his wealth and fame from what volatile business?

Alfred Nobel, the brilliant Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist, amassed his considerable fortune from a highly volatile but revolutionary business: explosives. His most famous invention was dynamite, patented in 1867. Before dynamite, nitroglycerin was a powerful but extremely unstable explosive that posed significant safety risks, even leading to a tragic explosion that killed Nobel's younger brother. Nobel's innovation involved mixing nitroglycerin with an absorbent inert substance like kieselguhr (diatomaceous earth), which stabilized the compound and made it much safer to handle and transport.

This groundbreaking invention, along with the blasting cap he also developed, transformed industries worldwide. Dynamite drastically reduced the cost and increased the efficiency of blasting rock, making it indispensable for monumental construction projects such as tunnels, canals, railways, and mining operations across the globe. Nobel proved to be a shrewd businessman, establishing numerous factories and companies in over 20 countries to produce and market his explosives, which quickly led to his immense wealth and international fame.

However, Nobel was reportedly troubled by the destructive potential of his inventions, particularly after a premature obituary mistakenly published in a French newspaper condemned him as a "merchant of death" for profiting from explosives. This event is widely believed to have influenced his decision to leave a more positive legacy.

Indeed, it was this fortune, derived from his success in the explosives industry, that Alfred Nobel ultimately bequeathed to establish the prestigious Nobel Prizes. His will, signed in 1895, set aside the bulk of his estate to fund annual awards recognizing those who have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace.