The history
The Nobel family was a prominent industrial family during the latter part of the 19th century. The three brothers — Alfred, Ludwig, and Robert Nobel — all demonstrated outstanding creative ingenuity, and together they built significant and far-reaching influence in a variety of industries, particularly in chemistry and engineering. With their extraordinary vision, Alfred Nobel, together with his brothers and other family members, established an extensive business empire that included the manufacture of explosives, weapons, oil, and other chemical products. Their business activities had a profound impact on industrial development in the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Parallel to Alfred Nobel’s remarkable success in building his own empire, his brothers Ludwig and Robert Nobel, with considerable help from Alfred, developed a powerful oil dynasty based in Baku, Azerbaijan. They operated there for nearly 50 years, and their enterprise — alongside those of the Rothschild and Rockefeller families — became one of the three great forces controlling the oil industry at the time.
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During this period, the Nobel brothers drove innovation at an incredible pace, advancing more resource-efficient products and logistics in and around oil handling. They also realized early on that investing in healthcare and education — the cornerstones of what we now define as sustainability — for their employees directly improved their business performance. Later, they even instituted an annual award for outstanding progress in metallurgy and petroleum.
Immanuel Nobel
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 using a rotary lathe."
Ludvig Nobel
One of Immanuel Nobel's sons, Ludvig Nobel, founded the Machine-Building Factory Ludvig Nobel, a major armaments enterprise, and was also the inventor of the Nobel wheel.
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He later established Branobel, the foremost Russian oil company of its time, and pioneered the launch of the world’s first diesel-driven tugs, tankers, and submarines, as well as the construction of the first European oil pipeline in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known for bequeathing his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize, but he also made numerous important contributions to science, holding 355 patents during his lifetime.
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His most famous invention was dynamite, patented in 1867, which provided a safer and more practical way to harness the explosive power of nitroglycerin. Dynamite was soon adopted worldwide for mining and infrastructure development
Robert Nobel
Robert Hjalmar Nobel was a Swedish businessman, industrialist, and investor. He was the founder of Branobel and a pioneer in the Russian oil industry.
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Born in the Maria Magdalena parish of Stockholm, Sweden, Robert was the eldest son of Karolina Andrietta Ahlsell and Immanuel Nobel. He was the brother of Emil Oscar Nobel, Ludvig Nobel, and Alfred Nobel.
