A dozen long-lost patents belonging to Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor best known for creating dynamite and founding the Nobel Prizes, have resurfaced after being missing for almost half a century. The discovery was made in a summer house in southern Sweden, according to the Nobel Foundation.
The documents were uncovered when a local couple stumbled upon them in their Blekinge vacation home. They later handed the papers to an auction worker, who alerted the Nobel Foundation.
“We looked into it and saw that these are really documents of great importance that we want to keep for future generations,” said Hanna Stjärne, head of the Nobel Foundation, in an interview with AFP.
A Glimpse Into Nobel’s Life As An Inventor
Nobel, who patented dynamite in 1867 and later created the Nobel Prizes in his 1895 will, registered hundreds of patents across multiple countries. Most involved methods for producing and applying nitroglycerin-based explosives.
How the newly found patents ended up hidden away remains a mystery. But for historians, they offer a rare window into the personal and professional world of one of history’s most influential inventors.
It was stunning to open these documents, to look at them, to get that feeling about what life must have been like 150 years ago, and how he travelled in Europe, how he worked in Europe.
“It was stunning to open these documents,” Stjärne explained. “To get that feeling of what life must have been like 150 years ago, how he travelled in Europe, how he worked in Europe.”
“The Richest Vagabond In The World”
Nobel was a true globetrotter. Nicknamed “the richest vagabond in the world,” he spent parts of his life in Sweden, Russia, Germany, France, the United States, Britain, and Italy. To safeguard his inventions, and to avoid transporting volatile nitroglycerin across long distances, he established companies in multiple countries.
A Rare Early Patent
Among the rediscovered papers, one patent from 1865 stands out as especially significant. Nobel Museum senior curator Ulf Larsson described it as a milestone in Nobel’s early career.
“This is a patent from a crucial stage when he had invented the detonator and was moving forward towards dynamite.” Larsson said.
