# Can I start my own Nobel Prize? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879 "2020-10-13T17:28:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/1 "2020-10-13T17:28:59Z")
The Nobel Prize in Economics is not technically a Nobel Prize, in the sense that it was not one of the prizes established by Alfred Nobel. Instead, it was started by the Swedish National Bank at some point in the 1960s. Let’s suppose I become fabulously rich and I want to start handing out Nobel Prizes in Underwater Basket-Weaving or Madden '20 or Explosives Manufacturing. Can I do that and call it a “Nobel Prize” in the same way the “Nobel Prize in Economics” is a Nobel Prize? Or does the Swedish Bank have special blessing to use the name “Nobel” that I would find it hard to obtain? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/2 "2020-10-13T17:46:22Z")
I think you’d first have to change your name to “Nobel.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/3 "2020-10-13T17:49:07Z")
According to wiki the prize is administered by the Nobel Foundation, so if you get them to go along with your prize it will all work out. Not sure how interested they would be in Underwater Basket-weaving or Madden '20, but isn’t the whole Nobel prize system honoring explosive manufacturing? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/4 "2020-10-13T17:53:15Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > The Nobel Prize in Economics is not technically a Nobel Prize, in the sense that it was not one of the prizes established by Alfred Nobel. Instead, it was started by the Swedish National Bank at some point in the 1960s. However, [it’s still administered by the Nobel Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Memorial_Prize_in_Economic_Sciences), and was started by a grant to that foundation: > [@](#): > > The prize was established in 1968 by a donation from Sweden’s central bank [Sveriges Riksbank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sveriges_Riksbank) to the [Nobel Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Foundation) to commemorate the bank’s 300th anniversary. > [@](#): > > As it is not one of the prizes that [Alfred Nobel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel) established in his will in 1895, it is not a Nobel Prize.[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Memorial_Prize_in_Economic_Sciences#cite_note-9) However, it is administered and referred to along with the [Nobel Prizes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize) by the [Nobel Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Foundation).[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Memorial_Prize_in_Economic_Sciences#cite_note-10) I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Nobel Foundation has some level of trademark on the name “Nobel Prize,” but that may or may not be applicable to someone in, say, the U.S. as they try to establish their own prize. Even so, I would strongly suspect that they have some lawyers who would attempt to get you to stop from attempting to deceive the public into believing that your “Nobel Prizes” are connected to them. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/5 "2020-10-13T18:44:49Z")
I expect that if you want to give a ton of money to the Nobel Foundation to establish a prize in some new category and are serious about it, they’d be willing to work with you. If you want to roll your own thing, then you probably can’t call it a Nobel prize. However, if you have the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to establish a foundation to consider and award substantial annual prize money, does it matter? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/6 "2020-10-13T18:49:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > but isn’t the whole Nobel prize system honoring explosive manufacturing? Not really. Nobel, who of course, made his fortune via his inventions of explosives, established the Nobel Prizes (and left much of his fortune to establishing the prize foundation) in hopes of building a legacy for something other than being a “merchant of death” (as a prematurely-published obituary had described him). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/7 "2020-10-13T18:51:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Nobel Foundation has some level of trademark on the name “Nobel Prize,” Yes > The names, titles, building images, trademarks, service marks and logos that appear on the Site are registered and unregistered marks of the Nobel Foundation, including but not limited to Nobel Prize®, the Nobel Medal® design mark, Nobelprize.org®, Nobel Museum®, Nobelmuseet®, Nobel Media® and Nobel Symposia® (collectively, the “Nobel Foundation trademarks”). The Nobel Foundation is most restrictive in permitting use of these trademarks, and you may not use the Nobel Foundation trademarks without prior written permission from the Nobel Foundation. From the website [NobelPrize.org](http://NobelPrize.org) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/8 "2020-10-13T19:29:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Not really. Nobel, who of course, made his fortune via his inventions of explosives, established the Nobel Prizes (and left much of his fortune to establishing the prize foundation) in hopes of building a legacy for something other than being a “merchant of death” (as a prematurely-published obituary had described him). So really then, because the foundation and the prizes wouldn’t exist if Nobel hadn’t made his fortune from explosives. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/9 "2020-10-13T19:54:58Z")
No more so than the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work on improving global health “honors” the computer software industry in which Gates made his fortune. But, yes, if it had not been for (a) the fortune that Nobel made from explosives, and (b) his desire to not be solely known for explosives, there would be no Nobel Prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/10 "2020-10-13T20:48:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Nobel Foundation has some level of trademark on the name “Nobel Prize,” but that may or may not be applicable to someone in, say, the U.S. as they try to establish their own prize. Indeed, the “Nobel Prize” is [trademarked in the U.S.](http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4804:mier9l.2.8) by the Nobel Foundation. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/11 "2020-10-13T21:13:30Z")
You can read how the economics prize was the creation of neo-liberal ideologues looking to cover their political agenda with the gloss of the Nobel prizes and make economics seem “scientific” here [https://twitter.com/MGSchmelzer/status/1315612330873552896?s=20](https://twitter.com/MGSchmelzer/status/1315612330873552896?s=20), “The Neoliberal Ersatz Nobel Prize” by Philip Mirowski ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/12 "2020-10-13T21:16:01Z")
There’s no Nobel prize for Mathematics. They shoot for the [Abel prize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Prize) or [Fields Medal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Medal) instead. Rumor has it that Mr. Nobel was not fond of Mathematicians, because one had an affair with his wife. However, it seems [Nobel never married](https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/why-is-there-no-mathematics-nobel-the-theories-the-facts-the-myths/ar-AAIPKb7). [Perhaps a lover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel#Personal_life)? As others have said, you’d probably have to work out a deal with the Nobel Foundation. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/13 "2020-10-13T22:45:57Z")
I suspect that the Nobel committee wouldn’t be super enthusiastic to pair up on a frivolous prize so Madden or whatever is probably out. And I’m with **kenobi\_65** , the Nobel prize isn’t honoring explosive manufacturing. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/14 "2020-10-14T18:54:02Z")
A more prosaic explanation is that Alfred Nobel was an inventor and an engineer, and had less interest in purely theoretical fields like math or philosophy. Even today, the science prizes tend to go to experimenters rather than theoreticians. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/15 "2020-10-14T19:10:26Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > There’s no Nobel prize for Mathematics. They shoot for the [Abel prize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Prize) or [Fields Medal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Medal) instead. Rumor has it that Mr. Nobel was not fond of Mathematicians, because one had an affair with his wife. However, it seems [Nobel never married](https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/why-is-there-no-mathematics-nobel-the-theories-the-facts-the-myths/ar-AAIPKb7). [Perhaps a lover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel#Personal_life)? It is virtually certain that Nobel didn’t like mathematics because it is too theoretical and he wanted to honor practical people. And the will apparently specifies that it should be given for the most important development in the preceding year. Instead it is usually given for one of the most important theoretical development in the past 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/16 "2020-10-14T19:14:25Z")
How long have the Nobel Prizes had as much importance as they seem to have today? I mean the announcements are major news all over the world and I think they’re the premier prizes of any sort. There’s really no reason that they should be; I assume there were earlier prizes and there certainly have been others since. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/17 "2020-10-14T20:38:42Z")
I have started awarding the Noble Prize from the Cecil Adams Foundation. We have made awards for the past 4 years for achievements in various disciplines. The annual awards are held every February 10-11 in Telluride,CO, capped off with naked night skiing. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/18 "2020-10-15T18:23:44Z")
It’s not only technically not a Nobel Prize, it isn’t officially called a Nobel Prize, its the “[Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2020/summary/)” You could probably start your own prizes in memory of Alfred Nobel, but people are less likely to ignore the full name of your prize if you’re not the Swedish Academy of Sciences. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/19 "2020-10-15T20:09:49Z")
You had me until the naked skiing. I’m terrible at that (skiing, that is) and the chafing would be painful. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879/20 "2020-10-15T21:17:13Z")
Only if you fall! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-start-my-own-nobel-prize/922879.md?page=2)