The Nobel prizes for 2026 will begin to be revealed next week. The award for physiology or medicine comes first on Monday, followed by the remaining categories, with the economics prize closing the series on October 12. Each winner receives 12 million Swedish crowns, roughly 1.21 million dollars, along with worldwide recognition that few other honours can match.
Swedish chemist and businessman Alfred Nobel created the prizes through his will. He directed that most of his fortune should reward people who had brought the greatest benefit to humanity in the previous year. Best known for inventing dynamite, Nobel was also a poet and skilled linguist. The original five categories of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace reflected the fields closest to his own interests. He died in 1896, and the first prizes were handed out in 1901 after a legal dispute over his estate.
Nobel chose specific institutions to select the winners. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the physics and chemistry prizes. The Swedish Academy handles literature. Karolinska Institute selects the physiology or medicine recipient. The Norwegian parliament is responsible for the peace prize. In 1968 Sweden’s central bank added the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, which is also decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Past laureates include Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Ernest Hemingway, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. The Curie family remains the most successful, with Marie Curie winning twice and several relatives also receiving the honour. Only five people have earned more than one Nobel prize. Some choices have later drawn criticism, including the 1949 medicine prize for lobotomy and certain peace awards. The failure to recognise Mahatma Gandhi is still widely viewed as a major oversight.
The formal presentation takes place every year on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. The peace prize is awarded in Oslo, while the other prizes are presented by the Swedish king in Stockholm. A grand banquet follows at Stockholm City Hall for about 1,300 guests. The menu, prepared by top Nordic chefs, stays secret until the moment it is served.
This year’s announcements will once again place outstanding scientists, writers and peacemakers in the global spotlight. The combination of substantial prize money and lasting prestige continues to make the Nobel prizes one of the most respected honours in the world.
