These plastic containers were used by Osamu Shimomura and his colleagues to extract luminous substances from the jellyfish Aequorea aequorea. The containers held solutions of ammonium sulphate and the acid EDTA.
From thousands of jellyfish, Shimomura and his colleagues managed to extract a few grammes of a luminescent protein, aequorin. They also succeeded in extracting small amounts of another protein that creates a pale green light. This discovery of green fluorescent protein (GFP) would have a great importance for research. GFP enables the study of processes inside the cells of living organisms.
Osamu Shimomura donated the plastic containers to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2009.
Receiving the Legion of Honour served as confirmation of the position Alfred Nobel had reached in France. Nobel expressed multiple times that he did not personally consider the honors and awards particularly important, but he saw the business value associated with such recognition. At heart, he was perhaps also flattered at this evidence of appreciation.
Toshihide Maskawa first began using this slide rule as a high-school student. At the age of 17, he used it just after the launch of the first-ever satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, to calculate the trajectories of satellites and rockets, for example. Maskawa later delved deeper into the mathematics of quantum physics. In 1973, Maskawa got his first programmable calculator, and his slide rule was allowed to retire.
Toshihide Maskawa donated the slide rule to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2008.
This briefcase belonged to the writer and politician Klas Pontus Arnoldson, who worked to promote peace. As a member of the Swedish parliament, he advocated a policy of neutrality, that is, of declining to take sides with any party in armed conflicts. In 1883, Arnoldson founded the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society (SPAS), and became its first secretary.
The briefcase was donated the to the Nobel Prize Museum by Klas Pontus Arnoldson’s family in 2008.
A notebook kept by Roger Tsien when he was eight years old gives us insights into his view of the world and how his interests evolved during his childhood years. The notebook contains lists of countries and major cities, and drawings of complicated traffic junctions and famous bridges, which fascinated young Tsien. His father's work in the air force is also reflected in his lists of plane models. Tsien’s blossoming interest in chemistry is evident in the lists of basic elements, minerals, vitamins, and medicines, and in the many sketches of chemistry experiments he copied from a book. Some pages are filled with Chinese words, although Tsien found this quite boring.
Roger Tsien donated the notebook to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2008.
For a long time this wooden bear stood on the writing desk from which Martti Ahtisaari, as President of Finland, diplomat, and peace negotiator, worked to promote a more peaceful world. It was a gift to him from disabled soldiers injured during the Russo-Finnish War of 1939 to 1940. The bear was made by war veteran Väinö Kekkonen from Karelia, the district from which Ahtisaari was forcibly evicted as a small boy during the war. The lives of the disabled soldiers who tried to defend Karelia did not always turn out as well as Ahtisaari’s life. “The bear symbolizes Finland. And perhaps also me,” explained Ahtisaari.
Martti Ahtisaari donated the wooden bear to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2008.
This hat belonged to Gunnar Myrdal. It is a wide-brimmed felt hat, and he wore it in the 1960s.
The hat was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by the Myrdal family in 2008.
This pipe rack and its pipes belonged to Gunnar Myrdal. He had them during his time as head of the Institute for International Economic Studies, which used to be in the Wenner-Gren Center in Stockholm. The IIES was founded in 1962, when a professorship was created especially for Gunnar Myrdal. He was its director until 1967.
The pipes and the pipe rack was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Gunnar Myrdal’s family in 2008.
This paper contains notes from a seminar that was crucial to Martin Chalfie's research.
In the late 1980s, “Neurolunch” seminars were held every Tuesday at 12.00 pm at the Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University. On 25 April 1989, Paul Brehm held a presentation on bioluminescent organisms that was pivotal to Martin Chalfie’s research. Chalfie realised the possibility of using green fluorescent protein as a marker for gene expression in his research. His notes are scribbled on this paper, including names of scientists in the field. One of them is “Shimomura”. Osamu Shimomura, Roger Tsien and Martin Chalfie later shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Martin Chalfie donated the notes to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2008.
Roger Myerson read Isaac Asimov's science fiction novel _The Foundation_ when he was twelve years old. The book inspired him to later pursue a career in mathematical social science.
Roger Myerson donated the book to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2007.
These manuscripts are the handwritten originals of two of Roger Myerson's most seminal scientific publications: "Incentive Compatibility and the Bargaining Problem" from 1979, and "Optimal Auction Design" from 1981.
Roger Myerson donated the manuscripts to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2007.
This model, donated by Roger Kornberg, shows the structure of RNA polymerase, a molecule that plays an important role in one of life’s most fundamental processes. The molecule is an enzyme, a substance that speeds up chemical processes. This particular enzyme is active in transferring genetic information stored in DNA molecules to RNA molecules. Through a kind of bubble in the RNA polymerase molecule, a long RNA molecule is assembled. The sequence of the RNA chain’s component parts is determined by a DNA molecule, which is translated inside the RNA polymerase molecule's cavity.
Roger Kornberg donated the model to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2006.
Some objects have a remarkable history. This small book contains the thoughts and poems of Rabindranath Tagore and members of his family. Among them are a hand-written poem by Tagore, who gave the book to Andrée Karpelès Hogman in 1923. Andrée Karpelès was an artist from France who spent a few years in Santiniketan, where Tagore ran a school. It was there that she both painted and translated Tagore's poems into French. After the end of the Second World War, Karpelès and her husband adopted a girl who had lost her father while fleeing from the Nazis, and her mother in a concentration camp. The book later became the property of their adopted daughter, Flora Hogman, who eventually settled in New York. When one of the Nobel Prize Museum's staff, Margrit Wettstein, came into contact with Flora Hogman in the course of her research, Hogman offered to donate the book to the Nobel Prize Museum. The book was given to the museum in 2007.
Robert Bárány was awarded the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His Nobel Prize diploma was designed by artist Anna Berglund.
The diploma was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by the Bárány family in 2007.
Robert Bárány was awarded the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Bárány's Nobel Prize medal was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by his family in 2007.
This doctoral ring belonged to Robert Bárány, who received an honorary doctorate at the Karolinska Institutet in 1924. In the Scandinavian countries, a doctor is traditionally entitled to wear a ring, which symbolizes the bond between the doctor and science.
The ring was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Robert Bárány's family in 2007.
This instrument is a prototype intended for the COBE satellite, which was used to measure cosmic background radiation. George Smoot and his research team were able to use data from the COBE in 1992 to show minor variations in radiation from different directions. This was a clue to how stars and other celestial bodies were created.
The variations can be explained by quantum fluctuations which cause particles to form lumps in the universe. These then continued to grow due to gravity.
The antenna prototype was presented to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2006 by George Smoot and NASA.
Edmund Phelps learnt to play the trumpet as a teenager, and it became his passion. Music gave him a creative outlet. A course in which he was asked to improvise using a C major scale helped Phelps realise that all of us can find inspiration where least expected. Phelps played in various groups and was happy to take the lead. Would he perhaps become the head of an organisation? Phelps came to the conclusion that he was not talented enough for a career in music and chose to study humanities. But he did attend one course in economics. This sparked his interest and was the first step in his research career in economics. Phelps continued to entertain friends and family with his musical talents, including singing.
Edmund Phelps donated the trumpet to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2006.
A magnifying glass is often found on a researcher's workbench. This particular magnifying glass often lay on the writing desk of Arne Tiselius. What did he use it for? Probably for a variety of purposes. Perhaps it was used to examine chemical samples or details of his laboratory equipment. Or to examine diagrams generated by the electrophoresis analytical method Tiselius developed.
The magnifying glass was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2009 by Birger Drake, a former colleague of Arne Tiselius.
Nelly Sachs gave this Venini vase to artist Lenke Rothman some time between 1951 and 1957.
Small, beautiful things gave Nelly Sachs comfort and inspiration in her work. Sachs was born into a Jewish family in Berlin and lived there until she fled Nazi persecution on the last passenger flight out in 1940. Sweden and a Stockholm apartment furnished with books and trinkets became her new home.
The vase was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Lenke Rothman in 2006.
The announcement that Albert Einstein had been awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics came as no surprise to him. Following his divorce from Mileva Maric in 1919, Einstein had promised that he would give her and their two sons his prize money if he was awarded the Nobel Prize. In this letter written by Einstein to his two sons in 1924, he mentions one of the uses to which they put the prize money: a house.
It was long thought that stress was the main cause of gastric ulcers. Barry Marshall had a different theory. He suspected a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, that colleague Robin Warren had discovered in peptic ulcer patients. He was unable to prove it, however, and his theory met with resistance. Facing such opposition, Marshall decided to experiment on himself. After drinking Helicobacter pylori in a broth solution from the sample jar seen here, he contracted a serious infection. This proved his theory to be correct.
Barry Marshall donated the sample jar to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2005.
This necktie, which belonged to Barry Marshall is printed with the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. Marshall and Robin Warren discovered that this is the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. They were rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005 for this discovery, which was a major breakthrough in the treatment of ulcers.
Barry Marshall donated the tie to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2005.
Barry Marshall donated the tie to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2005.
The comic book tells the story of how Barry Marshall discovered that stomach ulcers are caused by a bacterium. He proved his hypothesis by drinking a bacterial solution. This magazine was printed by the pharmaceutical company Abbott, which produced the most common drug against peptic ulcers.
Barry Marshall donated the magazine to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2005.
This Nobel Prize medal belonged to Hans von Euler-Chelpin, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929 for his studies of the fermentation of sugars. He shared the prize with Arthur Harden.
Hans von Euler-Chelpin was born in Germany, where he embarked on a career in science. He moved to Sweden as a young scientist and became a professor at Stockholm University in 1906. He held a key position in biochemistry and was a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry in 1929–1946.
von Euler became a Swedish citizen in 1902 but retained his German citizenship and was an officer in the German artillery and air force during the First World War. When the Nazis took over, and during the Second World War, he assisted the Nazi regime. He was an active member of pro-Nazi Swedish-German organisations and had connections high up in Nazi Germany.
The medal was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Hans von Euler's family in 2005.
Glasses are commonly found among the personal possessions of Nobel Prize laureates. These glasses belonged to John Eccles.
The glasses were donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by John Eccles’ family in 2004.
This briefcase must certainly have accompanied John Eccles on some of his many trips to meet with colleagues around the world. Eccles was originally from Australia, although he lived for long periods in England, New Zealand, and the US. His last years werespent in Switzerland. Attached to the briefcase is a card from a Swiss airline.
The briefcase was donated the to the Nobel Prize Museum by John Eccles’ family in 2004.
These books contain two notes that are associated with astonishing observations and great joy for Douglas Osheroff. As a doctoral student, Osheroff was working on experiments where the isotope helium-3 was cooled to very low temperatures. On 29 November 1971 at 10:05 pm, he noted that the cooling rate suddenly at one point fell to one third. Osheroff and his supervisors David Lee and Robert Richardson realised that they were onto something important, but they weren't sure exactly what. On 20 April 1972, at 2:40 am, Osheroff jotted down a new observation. He had found the explanation for the phenomenon: helium-3 could become super fluid.
“It was an exciting moment. There was absolutely nobody else in the entire building to share my discovery with. So, I waited an hour, until I couldn’t stand it any longer, and then I called my advisers.”
The discovery earned Osheroff, Lee and Richardson the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Douglas Osheroff donated the notebooks to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2004.
In the 20th century, the telephone became an increasingly important way to keep in touch with colleagues. This phone belonged to Gunnar Myrdal, who had a wide network as a researcher and politician. In 1933, he became professor of economics, and the following year a member of the Swedish parliament for the Social Democrats.
Myrdal also worked internationally. He spent the years before and after the Second World War in the U.S., writing such works as the highly-acclaimed An American Dilemma, a study of race relations and the conditions of the African American population. He also received assignments from the United Nations. Myrdal's analyses focused not just on economic factors. He also wove in historical, social, political, and other aspects. In the latter part of his life, he became committed to fighting the unequal distribution of global resources between rich and poor countries.
The telephone was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by the Myrdal family in 2004.
This cap belonged to Herbert Simon. It is Chinese and was worn by Simon i China and the U.S.
The cap were donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2003.
A pocket calculator can be associated an analytical and deeply reasoning mind. Herbert Simon, who used this calculator for many years, had that, but was very versatile and also partly had a different view of man. In Simon's day, established economic theories were based on the notion that all businesses and entrepreneurs acted in a strictly rational manner, with their own profit maximization as their only goal. Simon believed that people's choices diverge from the strictly rational, and he described businesses as adaptable systems with physical, personal, and social elements. Adopting this viewpoint, he was able to describe modern society's decision-making processes from a completely different perspective.
The calculator was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2003.
These drawings were made by Herbert Simon, who had many interests apart from his economic research. He enjoyed travelling and hiking and often brought his sketch pad and charcoal along.
The drawings were donated the to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2004.
This beret is a Bakarra black wool felt beret worn by Herbert Simon in cold weather. When a beret wore out, he either bought a new one on his next trip abroad, or he ordered a new beret from the Bakarra Company.
The beret was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2003.
This silk scarf was worn by Herbert A. Simon on his way to the Nobel Prize award ceremony in December 1978.
The scarf was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2003.
Herbert Simon received this doctoral hat when he was made an honorary doctor at Lund University in 1968. He also wore it to the Nobel Prize award ceremony and banquet in December 1978.
The hat was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2003.
Herbert Simon was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1978. His diploma was designed by artist Sven Ljungberg. The artwork depicts a sunflower.
The diploma was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2003.
This medal for the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded to Herbert Simon in 1978.
The medal was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Herbert Simon’s family in 2003.
In his 1963 research report, Herbert Kroemer developed a proposal for a heterostructure that works like a laser. Heterostructures entail that different semiconductor materials are placed in thin layers on top of each other, enabling characteristics that allow them to be used as electronic components. Kroemer’s proposal, which was made simultaneously and independently of a similar proposal from Zhores Alferov, was key to the development of semiconductor lasers, which became crucial in telecommunications and other fields.
Herbert Kroemer donated the research report to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2003.
This device, a goniometer, was used by Roderick MacKinnon in his discovery of the structure of ion channels – an important part of our cells. A crystal is mounted on the pin. When the goniometer is turned, the crystal is irradiated with X-rays from different angles. Patterns from rays passing the crystal provide a key to the structure of the crystal. On New Year’s Eve 1998, Roderick MacKinnon was alone in the laboratory. All of his colleagues had left to celebrate the new year. Late that night, he saw the first image of an ion channel on his computer screen.
Roderick MacKinnon donated the goniometer to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2003.
This cap, which belonged to Roderick MacKinnon, has the logo of Rockefeller University, where he worked.
Roderick MacKinnon donated the cap to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2003.
This photomultiplier tube represents Masatoshi Koshiba's research at the Kamiokande and Super-Kamiokande facilities in Japan. These large facilities are located in a water-filled mine. More than 1,000 photomultiplier tubes were placed in the Super-Kamiokande.
Neutrinos are elusive particles that can arise in nuclear reactions in the sun and during supernova explosions. Only one in a trillion neutrinos are stopped on their way through planet earth. When this happens, an electron is formed that generates a small flash of light. To prove the existence of neutrinos, Masatoshi Koshiba used photomultipliers like this one. The photomultiplier captured the flashes and amplified them so that they could be registered.
Masatoshi Koshiba donated the photomultiplier to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2002.
Amartya Sen used these maths textbooks at school. They are in Hindi, even though this is not the most common language in West Bengal, where he grew up. Mathematics is important in economics, a field where Sen conducted groundbreaking studies.
Amartya Sen donated the textbooks to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
A bicycle is not the most commonly-used tool in economic science, but Amartya Sen's bicycle has had a special significance in his research. A large part of his work is concerned improving conditions for the most impoverished members of society. In a study on differences between infant girls and boys, he employed an assistant to weigh the children. Problems arose when the children did not want to be weighed and bit the assistant. The episode ended with Amartya Sen bicycling through the countryside of West Bengal to weigh the infants himself.
Amartya Sen donated the calligraphy to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
In prison Kim Dae-jung was only allowed one sheet of paper per month. The letters to his wife Lee Hee-ho had to be written with small characters.
Kim Dae-jung donated the facsimiles of the letters to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
The Bible was a key source of energy for Kim Dae-jung. His struggle for democracy in South Korea led to attempts on his life, imprisonment and forced exile. Thanks to support from the South Korean people and democratic efforts around the world, he could keep on fighting. But his deep personal faith also gave him strength. In his Nobel Prize Lecture he said: “I have lived, and continue to live, in the belief that God is always with me.”
Kim Dae-jung donated the bible to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
These clothes were worn by Kim Dae-jung during his time in prison. After being sentenced to death in 1981, Kim Dae-jung was sent to the Chungju prison. Visits from his family were restricted. Kim’s wife Lee Hee-ho knitted clothes and blankets to give more warmth than the prison uniform. The death sentence was later commuted, and he was allowed in 1982 to go into exile in the United States.
Kim Dae-jung donated the prison clothes to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
Joseph Brodsky used to always pack two portable typewriters on his travels, one for Latin characters and one with the Cyrillic alphabet. But he didn't need to think of that when he spent his summers in Sweden in 1988–1994, because the writer Bengt Jangfeldt let him borrow this typewriter with Cyrillic characters.
Brodsky often had problems with machines with complicated features. That was one of the reasons why he never switched to computers, even though this would have enabled him to alternate freely between Latin and Cyrillic letters without having to drag two typewriters around with him. According to Bengt Jangfeldt, "the clatter of the typewriter and the imprint of black letters on white paper was a veritable holy process" for Brodsky.
The typewriter was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Bengt Jangfeldt in 2023.
