5 women who touched the heart of inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

According to legend, mathematicians are never included in the lists for the Nobel Prize, allegedly due to the fact that the wife of a famous inventor cheated on Alfred Nobel with a mathematician. In fact, the philanthropist and entrepreneur has never been officially married, but at the same time there were women who left an indelible mark on his heart. And one of them really put the scientist in an awkward position.

The first love

Alfred Nobel was only 16 years old when he met a girl who became his first love. It was a young and beautiful Alexandra from Russia. The future founder of the award pinned his hopes on her, but for a long time he did not dare to confess his feelings. When he explained the subject of his sighs, he was deeply disappointed: she was not at all burning with passion for the Nobel.

Other sources say that Alfred Nobel's first love was mutual, but the girl died suddenly of consumption, and since then depression has become a common condition for the young man. It is absolutely impossible to confirm or deny the fact of the death of the girl with whom Nobel was in love. He himself recalled his love with light notes of nostalgia and wrote about the search for a remedy that could ease his pain.

Anna Desri

It took only two years and Alfred Nobel fell in love again. This time to a young Danish woman who had absolutely no feelings for her admirer. She openly sympathized with Franz Lemarge, who planned to become a mathematician and always preferred him at balls.

And once Franz Lemarge, in front of Anna, asked Nobel if he was familiar with mathematics. Hearing a positive answer, he invited him to solve a difficult equation, and when the young man could not cope with the task from excitement, Lemarge laughed at Nobel and offered to devote himself to literature. Anna Dezry laughed merrily at her unlucky boyfriend. After this incident, Alfred Nobel felt humiliated for a long time.

However, biographers argue that this story has nothing to do with the lack of a Nobel Prize in mathematics. It's just that this science in itself was not too interested in Nobel.

Sarah Bernhardt

Alfred Nobel was already 30 when he first saw the talented actress on the stage of one of the Parisian theaters. He was fascinated by the beauty and grace of Sarah Bernhardt and immediately forgot about all the grudges against the fairer sex. Nobel went backstage with flowers and decided to invite the girl to dinner.

He was in love and almost happy, Sarah Bernhardt reacted rather favorably to his advances, but the mother of a promising scientist quickly cooled his ardor. In a letter to her son, she described to him all the prospects of marriage with an actress and at the end she rather harshly characterized the actors as people without a soul.

Alfred Nobel considered the words of the mother fair and ended the relationship with the actress. Only a few years later, he saw her again on stage and sent a bouquet to Sarah Bernhardt, but did not dare to meet in person.

Bertha Kinski

This girl responded to Alfred Nobel's announcement published in one of the Parisian newspapers about the search for a secretary. Bertha Kinski was an impoverished Austro-Bohemian countess forced to serve in wealthy homes. From her last job, the young lady was fired with a scandal because of an affair with Baron Arthur von Suttner, the eldest son of the owners.

Bertha was able to become a real assistant for Alfred Nobel. She deftly handled paperwork, and she led the household regularly. The inventor had a taste for life again and intended to propose to Bertha. She was always friendly and kind to Nobel, so he expected a positive response.

However, he was again disappointed. Once he returned home, he found on the table a farewell note from Bertha Kinski, notifying him of her imminent marriage with the same baron, because of whom she once lost her job. But this case could no longer break Nobel's heart, he managed to maintain friendly relations with his former secretary and even discussed plans with her to establish the Nobel Prize.

Alfred Nobel later met with Berta and her husband when they returned to Paris from Tiflis, where they were forced to leave because of Arthur's parents, who had never forgiven their son for marrying a former governess.

Nobel biographers claim that the Peace Prize was included in the list of nominations under the influence of Bertha von Suttner. By the way, she herself became its laureate in 1905 for the novel "Down with Arms!", Which describes the fate of a young woman who suffered from numerous wars.

Sophie Hess

In 1876, Alfred Nobel met a 20-year-old flower girl, a simple and uneducated girl, but spontaneous and even sweet. The scientist diligently taught her manners, provided material assistance and hoped over time to re-educate the young lady, making her a real lady. True, Sophie herself did not want to study the wisdom of etiquette at all, and she was completely indifferent to sciences. It would be enough for her to get the status of Nobel's wife and lead a carefree life, using money and the position of a potential husband in society.

Alfred Nobel did not share Sophie's plans. He was ready to continue helping the young charming woman with money, but he did not see her in the role of his wife. Their relationship lasted 18 years, but as a result, the girl gave birth to a child from another man, and Nobel generously provided the maintenance of his former lover and her baby.

In his will, Alfred Nobel did not forget about Sophie Hess, leaving her with a very decent amount. But after the death of the scientist, the girl forced his relatives to redeem Nobel's letters from her, threatening in case of refusal to make the messages public.

After breaking up with Sophie Hess, Alfred Nobel never again entered into relationships with women. He died at the age of 63 from a cerebral hemorrhage, and at that moment there was not a single loved one next to him, only people who were in his service.

It is well known that the history of the most significant of the scientific awards is associated with the name of a man who thus tried to compensate humanity for the harm from his dangerous inventions. In fact, the dynamite created by Alfred Nobel served mostly peaceful purposes over the next 100 years. With its help, thousands of bridges, tunnels were built, and minerals were mined. In addition, the scientist paid for the creation of a "dynamite empire" with his brother's life.