Alfred Nobel was born on 21 October 1833 in
Stockholm, Sweden, into a family of engineers. He was a chemist, engineer and inventor who amassed a fortune during his lifetime, most of it from his 355 inventions, of which
dynamite is the most famous. He was interested in experimental physiology and set up his own labs in France and Italy to conduct experiments in blood transfusions. Keeping abreast of scientific findings, he was generous in his donations to
Ivan Pavlov's laboratory in Russia and was optimistic about the progress resulting from scientific discoveries made in laboratories. In 1888, Nobel was surprised to read his own obituary, titled "The Merchant of death Is Dead", in a French newspaper. As it happened, it was Nobel's brother
Ludvig who had died, but Nobel, unhappy with the content of the obituary and concerned that his legacy would reflect poorly on him, was inspired to change his will. In his last will, Nobel requested that his money be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in
physics,
chemistry,
peace,
physiology or medicine, and literature. Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime, the last was written a little over a year before he died in 1896 at the age of 63. Because his will was contested, it was not approved by the
Storting (Norwegian Parliament) until 26 April 1897. After Nobel's death, the
Nobel Foundation was set up to manage the assets of the bequest. In 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created
statutes were promulgated by Swedish King
Oscar II. According to Nobel's will, the
Karolinska Institute in Sweden, a medical school and research centre, is responsible for the Prize in Physiology or Medicine.