STOCKHOLM/OSLO — The annual countdown to one of the world’s most prestigious honours is set to conclude next week as the winners of the Nobel Prizes are announced. These awards celebrate monumental achievements across six fields: medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, economics, and peace. The new laureates will join a distinguished pantheon that includes historical figures like Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa.
The Nobel Origin
The Nobel Prizes were established by Alfred Nobel, a prolific 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist. Though he held over 300 patents, Nobel is most famous for inventing dynamite—a powerful explosive created by stabilizing nitroglycerine. Dynamite made Nobel immensely wealthy, and toward the end of his life, he stipulated that his vast fortune should fund annual prizes “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
The first prizes—in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and peace—were presented in 1901, five years after Nobel’s death. A sixth award, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, was created in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank. While some purists argue the economics prize is not a true Nobel, it is always presented alongside the others.
Key Facts About Nominations and Awards
The selection process for the Nobel Prizes is shrouded in secrecy, with the following key rules:
Secrecy and Waiting Period: None of the nominations are announced by the respective prize committees, and the Nobel statutes prohibit the judges from discussing their deliberations for 50 years. However, those who submit nominations are free to make their recommendations public.
Nomination Rules: A person cannot nominate themselves, but they can be nominated multiple times by others, including members of each prize’s panel.
The different committees generally strive to honour Nobel’s wish to reward those who have conferred the greatest benefit to humanity, though their timelines differ:
The Peace Prize Exception: The peace prize committee is the only one that regularly rewards achievements made in the previous year. It is also the only prize awarded in Oslo, Norway.
Science Prizes in Stockholm: For the science prizes, which are awarded in Stockholm, winners often have to wait decades for recognition as judges prioritize breakthroughs that have stood the test of time.
Schedule and Prize Money
The 2025 Nobel Prize announcements will follow this schedule:
Prize Category Announcement Date Location
Medicine Monday (Kick-off) Karolinska Institute, Stockholm
Physics Tuesday Stockholm
Chemistry Wednesday Stockholm
Literature Thursday Stockholm
Peace Friday Oslo, Norway
Economic Sciences October 13 Stockholm
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The awards ceremony will take place on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. Each prize carries an award of 11 million Swedish kronor (nearly $1.2 million), along with an 18-carat gold medal and a diploma. Up to three laureates can share the prize money for each award.
Peace Prize Spotlight
US President Donald Trump has been nominated several times for the Peace Prize since 2018 by both American and international politicians. His name was specifically put forth in December by a Republican congresswoman for his role in brokering the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states.