Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born October 21, 1833 in Stockholm Sweden. Nobel. He invented dynamite and left an endowment fund of $9 million in his will. The interest on this endowment was to be used as awards for people whose work most benefited humanity. He wanted the profit from his invention to be used to reward human ingenuity. First awarded in 1901, the Nobel Prize is still the most honored in the world. He set up factories around the world to manufacture dynamite and other explosives. Construction and mining companies, and the military ordered large quantities of this relatively safe explosive. Sales of dynamite brought Nobel great wealth. His other chemical research provided valuable information on the development of artificial rubber, leather, silk and precious stones. He died in 1896.