The New York herald., 1922-12-17

OS WILLIAM = ASTON
TIME name OF Alfred Nobel Is dis
tinguished in biography for
two incongruous acts-the in
vention Of dynamite and oognate dis
cover1es in explosives and the estab-
lishment of a fund to be devoted to
furthering peace on earth out of the
millions he had accumulated out of
these new terrors of war. He was a
Swedish engineer and chemist, son
of Emanuel Nobel, who established a
| torpedo factory at Petrograd, and who
was impoverished by the Crimean war.
Alfred developed the oil wells of the
Caucasus and subscribed half, the
amount necessary for equipping the
Andree balloon expedition to the north
pole. In his will he left securities,
which after liquidation brought in
about 100000 year interest to be
applied to the five Nobel prizes, which
are thus about $4,000 apiece.
The prizes for physics and chem
istry are awarded by the Swedish
Academy of Sciences. Those for dis
coveries in medicine and physiology
by the Carolus Institute of Stockholm,
the literary prize by the Swedish
Academy, and that for the spreading
OF peace by a committee of five
members chosen by the Norwegian
Storthing.
1t is the last named prize that has
aroused the most widespread interest.
oh
December 10, the anniversary OF
Nobel's death. and officially announces
its awards. Proof of the merit of the
candidates must be In the form of
documents which have been printed
in the public, press.
Nansen. Winner of Peace Prize,
Shone as Explorer and Scientist
This years peace prize has been
awarded to Fridtjof Nansen, famous
Arctic explorer and oceanographer.
Nansen was born in Frozen, near
Cbristiania, Norway. on October 10,
1851. and removed with his parents in
his fifteenth year to Christiania, where
he received his education. He en-
tered Christiania University in 1880,
specializing In zoology. When of age
| he Joined the sealing ship Viking in a
voyage to Greenland waters, and upon
his return wrote and published his
notes OF the trip. gaining thereby
from his university the degree OF doc
tor of philosophy.
An idea sprung from this youthful
experience deepened into a fixed belief
that Greenland was promising field
/ L.. 4.
! preparations, intending IL possible to
cross the great field Of ice which
covers the interior OF the island. AL
though the Government OF Norway ret
fused the small grant he asked II was
provided by Augustin Camel, a mer-
chant OF Christiania.
The expedition started in March,
1888, and Nansen returned in May,
1889. having suffered great hardship
| in his encounter with inland fec and
from intense cold and lack OF pro-
visions
DR.. Nansen's theories OF reaching
the North Pole were based on the ex-
periences of the Inflated "Jeannette,'
which after being put into the Ice by
Lieut.. De Long, her commander. near
wrangel Land, was allowed 20 drift
backward and forward, but always
northward with the ice, until she sank
to the north OF the New Siberian ISL
ands, when she was crushed between
| the ice fioes. In the expedition of 1890
the Norwegian Parliament. King Oscar
and a number OF citizens OF Christiania
were behind Nansen. On June 20.
] 1898, he set sail, bound for the Arctic
seas in the good ship "Fram" (For-
| ward). AS soon as II was frozen in
and the long drift began Nansen was
overjoyed TO find that the ship bore
the ice pressure perfectly. Then, ac-
companled by a fellow explorer, Nan
sen left her and the two started on the
terrible Journey on foot across the Ice
OF the interior. The hardships they
endured make an almost incredible
| tale OF human endurance. The ordeal
lasted from August 2s. 1926. to May 10.
1895. when they reached the coast and
returned on the "windward" OF the
| Jackson -Harmsworth expedition.
In 1905 Nsnsen entered politics and
he was influential I'm Norwsy's blood
less revolution. After the separation
OF Norway and Sweden he was ap-
pointed by the Government OF Nor
way as It's Minister 20 England. an
office from which he retired In 1908 TO
accept the chair OF oceanography In
the University OF Christianis. During
the war nc did admirable work In the
repatriation OF prisoners of war and
for this he was appointed High Conn
missioner of the League of Nations.
DIR. Albert Einstein gets the Nobel
prize for physics, 1921. two years after
nc astounded the world by propound-
ing a theory coordinating time and
space, which theory has since come 70
be popularly known by his name. The
new physics requires for our coordi-