Claire+Woodmen+Speech+09

The person I chose was very weak when he was born. All his life his mother struggled to keep him alive and healthy. Although he had bad health his mother thought he was a genius,and she was right. Here's her proof:
 * By the time he was 17 he knew 5 different languages!
 * He traveled around the world for his schooling.
 * He was an inventor and writer

Who was this genius who touched many lives? He was Alfred Nobel.

Nobel's father, Imannuel Nobel, was an inventor. He invented plywood and Naval Mines. Naval mines are self contained explosives that explode on inpact,and they're placed in water to destroy enemy ships. He sold the mines during the war and got rich. He used that money to get private tutors for his sons.That might be why they were so smart! Alfred wanted to help Imanuel with his experiments. At the time he was trying to make nitrogylcerin safer and more stable. Immanuel let Alfred work on it with him, even though it was dangerous work. Sometimes there were explosions. One explosion killed several factory workers and one of Alfred's brothers. But the family was set on reaching their goal. One day Alfred discovered that if you mix liquid nitroglycerine with silica it would harden, forming dynamite! He patented the dynamite in 1867.

Some time after this exciting invention, Alfred read the newspaper, and found his own obituary.(An obituary is an article in the newspaper about the lives of those who have recently died.) It called him a "merchant of death" and "bellicose monster" whose inventions had served to "boost the bloody art of war from bullets & bayonets to long range explosives." That basically meant they thought he was a killer, since he invented dynamite,but he had invented dynamite to make explosives **safer**. It turns out a careless reporter had heard that Alfred had died, but it was Emil, one of Alfred's brothers, who had died.

Alfred wanted people to remember him in a good way,not as a killer,so he decided to do something to change their minds. He developed the Nobel Prizes using the money he got from inventing dynamite.The prizes are awarded for literature, peace, medicine, science, physics, and economics. Every year a person or a group of people are chosen to be the winners of each category.The winners often use the money to pay back bank loans.The prizes have also inspired many people to do great things.If Alfred never made the prize many great inventions and discoveries would not be around because the winners of the Nobel prize would have been uninspired and unfunded.That's why I think Alfred Nobel has touched many lives.