"The Merchant of Death is Dead." When Alfred Nobel read this obituary, he was horrified. A Paris newspaper mistakenly thought that he was dead instead of his wealthier older oil baron brother, Ludwig.
It is a matter of conjecture whether or not reading this very negative obituary led to the establishment of the Nobel Prizes, first awarded five years after Albert's actual death in 1896.
Today, millions of people remember Albert and almost nobody remembers Ludwig. Kip Anastasiou will outline the life of Albert Nobel and discuss the Nobel Prizes and how they came to be.
One of the most worthy Nobel Prizes was awarded for medicine last October. The recipient was Ralph Steinman, a McGill graduate and Canadian to the core.
After taking his medical degree, he took the unusual step of accepting a postdoctoral position. Very soon, the young postdoc discovered an unusual cell in the spleen completely new to science.
When he announced it to the world, almost nobody believed him. It was thought to be a damaged cell of some type already known. He was considered to be too young to make such an important discovery. Almost no one else was able to find the cells or reproduce his results.
It was much longer than a decade before his discovery and its significance were generally accepted. Of course, honours were heaped on him, but it is sad that he died just three days before his Nobel Prize was awarded.
This was just the kind of accomplishment that Nobel had in mind for his awards. Anastasiou will detail the life and work of Ralph Steinman.
