Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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treme wealth in many cases leads to idleness and prevents the develop- ment of the initiative which we all possess — the inherent desire to build an independent position for ourselves. It was his intention to help those who serve society and contribute to the welfare of mankind, receiving little compensation other than the personal satisfaction derived from the service itself. In order to accomplish his purpose, he made provisions in his will for the establishment of the Nobel Prize Fund. Each year the interest of the fortune is divided equally among re- cipients for distinguished work in five fields : namely, physics, chem- istry, medicine, literature, and in the promotion of peace. He also provided for judges in these fields as follows: the awards in physics and chemistry are made by the Royal Swedish Acad- emy of Science; the award in medi- cine is made by the Caroline Insti- tute; the Swedish Academy judges the merits of literary work submit- ted; and the peace prize is made by a committee of five elected by the Norwegian Storthing. One notice- able aspect is the universal scope which the awards embrace. No dis- tinction is made because of race, creed, or nationality; therefore, all have an equal opportunity. Since physics, chemistry, and medi- cine are all definitely related, it will be more convenient to discuss these three different fields together. It is interesting to note that the successive awards in these three fields mark great strides in the progress of science during the last century. In the first place, especially significant, originally to physical and later to medical science, was the discovery of the Rontgen or X-ray by William Rontgen, the first to be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. It is hardly necessary to point out the value of this discovery to medical science in diagnosis and treatment of disease. Equally important was the discovery of radium and polonium by that re- markable woman, Madame Curie, who received the Nobel Award twice, once in physics and once in chemistry. No other scientist has ever been so honored. We like to pause here to think, in this connection, of her stead- fast refusal to commercialize her dis- covery and of her earnestness in wishing it to be used for the benefit of mankind. Everybody knows that radium has proved invaluable in the treatment of cancer, even curing the disease in its early stages. Truly, Madame Curie deserved to be so sig- nally honored by the Nobel Award. Among American scientists to be honored by the Nobel Award in chemistry are Thomas Richards and Irving Langmuir, who have increased our knowledge of atoms, electrons, and neutrons. Among the recipients of the Nobel Prize in medicine we have one of the greatest doctors that ever lived, Dr. Emil Bekring, who is the discoverer of diphtheria antitoxin and who sub- sequently made practical the use of the serum of animals immune to 23

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and for the people, not the people for the Constitution. Just as our American policy of settling important matters through friendly debate and a final vote was satisfactory in bringing to a favor- able close the arguments on the rati- fication of the Constitution, so we confidently hope that the rising ques- tions of today may be settled in the same way. The History of the Nobel Award by Victoria Machaj TT ' OR the past thirty-seven years the people of every nation have either heard of or read about the Nobel Prizes, but only a very small per- centage are well acquainted with their history. Most people have little more than a rather vague conception of the magnitude of these awards. Be- cause of the importance of these prizes and the emphasis placed on re- ceiving them by the great men of our day, I shall endeavor to show the origin, extent, and significance of these awards. Alfred Nobel, the donor of these awards, was born in Stockholm, Swe- den, on October 21, 1833, of a family of distinguished scientists. His father operated factories for the manufac- ture of explosives in Russia. It was the constant contact with his brother and father and the innumerable visits to his father’s factories that gave Alfred such an extensive interest in science. Even as a youth, he showed a great aptitude for science, physics, and mechanical engineering. During this period, the uncontroll- able nitroglycerine, one of the prod- ucts of his father’s factory, was caus- ing many dangerous explosions. It was in one of these explosions that Alfred Nobel lost his brother. This caused him to exert all the initi- ative that he possessed in experiment- ing and attempting to produce an explosive less dangerous, but still as powerful as nitroglycerine. After long study and constant experimenta- tion, Alfred Nobel invented a com- pound in 1867 which he called dyna- mite, made by mixing the nitro- glycerine oil with porous absorbing material, thus converting it into a paste, the resulting dynamite being much more insensitive to shock or blow. At that time Mr. Nobel found it very difficult to introduce his in- vention to the world; but gradually it was introduced into the different countries and marks such an epoch in the history of civilization that by the time the inventor was forty years old, he was making a fortune, for dynamite was being manufactured in almost every country in the world. As Alfred Nobel was approaching the last years of his life, the question of the disposal of his fortune occu- pied his attentions. He had no chil- dren and felt it an unwise plan to leave his fortune to relatives who had not deserved it. He believed that ex- 22

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diphtheria. Edgar Douglas Adrian and Sir Charles Sherington are two British physiologists who are known for their great research and investi- gation of the nervous system. They have given us a complete study of the nerve impulse and the nerve tissue. Nor should we fail to mention Dr. Alexis Carrel, who came to the United States from France to continue his study of blood transfusions and blood vessels. It is, of course, true that these scientists and many others worked without any thought of reward, and these invaluable contributions to sci- ence would have been made if Alfred Nobel had never conceived his phil- anthropic plan. However, it is a source of satisfaction to see genius and unselfish devotion to a cause recognized, and to note, as we have said, that the prizes record, to a cer- tain extent, the great progress in science during the last forty years. When we come to consider the Nobel Awards in literature, we find that this field is one of the most in- teresting and arouses the most con- troversy. Recognizing the fact that here it is not so interesting to trace movements or progress, and realiz- ing too, that judgment of contempo- rary literature cannot be trusted too far, still we can all agree that the awards have been made to writers whose work is, at least, significant. In 1907, Rudyard Kipling received the Nobel Award for his famous short stories and novels of life in India. Especially proud are we of Sinclair Lewis who in 1930 became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in literature. In spite of the criticism attendant upon this award, we be- lieve he has revealed his sincerity of purpose as well as his prejudices. May poetry, drama, and prose con- tinue to develop in the United States and bring Nobel honor in literature to this country. It seems strange to most of us that the inventor of dynamite should in his will leave a share of his fortune to those per sons who contribute toward the promotion of world peace. It is reported that in the later years of Alfred Nobel’s life he became very much interested in what different so- cieties were doing to promote peace. It was his belief that by improving war material and, henceforth, in- creasing the dangers of war, he was in some paradoxical way contributing toward the peace of the world. We must admit that the men who have struggled to promote peace de- serve great honor, even though in these troublous and discouraging times they appear to be voices crying in the wilderness. Far from making progress toward world peace, since the first peace award was made, we seem to be daily growing farther and farther away from that ideal which has filled the minds and imaginations of so many peace-loving individuals. In spite of this fact, however, the in- tentions of the prize winners were noble and their accomplishments worthy of recognition ; and even the present mad scramble for armament 24