Keyword: The Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize

While the Academy Awards may be more glamorous, not even the most respected actors who dedicate their lives to helping others have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

The Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901, as requested in the will of the founder of the prize, Swedish entrepreneur (and inventor of dynamite) Alfred Nobel, who left much of his fortune behind to establish the awards.

The Nobel Prizes are an honor awarded yearly on December 10th - anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death - in the fields of physics, medicine, chemistry, literature, economics, and peace work. The recipients of the Nobel Prize are known as laureates. These awards are given to those individuals who, according to Nobel’s will, ‘during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.’

South Africa has had several laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize since its inception. In 1960, Albert Lutuli, the President of the African National Congress, received the Prize. Desmond Tutu won the distinction in 1984 for his anti-apartheid work. Most recently, Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk shared the honor of being the Peace Prize laureates for their overwhelming roles and dedication to effectively ending apartheid in South Africa.

Other famous Nobel Peace Prize winners include: Kofi Annan, Elie Wiesel (author), Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr.