The Nobel family (/noʊˈbɛl/ noh-BEL), is a prominent Swedish family closely related to the history both of Sweden and of Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its legacy includes its outstanding contributions to philanthropy and to the development of the armament industry and the oil industry. Some of its foremost members are Immanuel Nobel the Younger, the engineer, developer of underwater naval mines and inventor of the rotary lathe used to produce plywood, Ludvig Nobel, the founder of Branobel and one of the richest and the most important men in Russia at his time, and Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite who left the major part of his estate to the creation of the Nobel Prizes.
| Nobel family | |
|---|---|
| Business family | |
Immanuel Nobel 
Ludvig Nobel
Peter Nobel
| |
| Place of origin | Scania, Sweden |
| Founder | Petrus Olai Nobelius |
| Connected families | Rudbeck |
| Estate(s) | Björkborn Manor |
The Nobel family originated from the village of Östra NöbbelövinScania, hence the name. The first member was Petrus Olai Nobelius (1655–1707) who married Wendela Rudbeck (1668–1710), sister of Olof Rudbeck the Younger, daughter of the famous Swedish scientist Olaus Rudbeck the Elder and granddaughter of Johannes Rudbeck, BishopofVästerås.[1]
Members of the Nobel family are known not only for their interest in art but also for their inventive ability, which is sometimes referred to as a Rudbeckian trait, inherited from their ancestor Olaus Rudbeck, the elder.[2] Immanuel Nobel pioneered the development of underwater mines, designed some of the first steam engines to power Russian ships, installed the first central heating systems in Russian homes and was the first to develop modern plywood (cut with a rotary lathe). One of his sons, Ludvig Nobel, was the founder of The Machine-Building Factory Ludvig Nobel, a great armaments concern and the inventor of the Nobel wheel. Ludvig was also the founder of Branobel, the foremost Russian oil industry of its time, and launched the world's first diesel-driven tugs and tankers, besides building the first European pipeline.[3] Alfred Nobel, who died childless, was the inventor of dynamite and the founder of the Nobel Prizes, to the creation of which he left the bulk of his estate.
The Nobel family has created several societies, including the Nobel Family Society, a private society of which only the descendants of Immanuel Nobel, the younger, are eligible as members, the Nobel Foundation, a private society administering the prizes of Alfred Nobel, and the Nobel Charitable Trust. Notably, the Director of the Nobel Foundation, Michael Sohlman, and the elected head of the Nobel family disapprove of the institution of the Nobel Charitable Trust (NCT)[4]
The Nobel family is also represented in the Nobel Prizes Award Ceremony, held in Stockholm every year. In 2007, the Nobel family archives kept in the Archives of Lund were inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.[5]
