Immanuel Nobel, was a Swedish Inventor, who had three sons, Robert, Ludvig and Alfred.

Other Than inventing routine stuff, he was also ultra interested in explosives. Once, during his visit to Russia, he impressed the Tsar with his awesomeness. As a result, he settled in Russia.
His Son Robert, took forward his legacy. Once, as a part of business, he got a huge rifle contract for the Russian Army. So he sent his Brother Luvig, to Baku, to procure some wood for the rifle butt.

When Ludvig reached Baku, he found oil literally coming out of everywhere.
There was so much oil, thag people didn't know what to do with it. There were actual oil fountains.

Given that there were no mobile phones at that time, He decided to spend the 25000 roubles that he had for wood, and bought an oil refinery.

He decided to start selling Oil.
His brother Robert was angry, but Ludvig being the elder one, there was nothing he could do. Another big issue was the transportation of Oil, which was very expensive.

So Ludvig designed the first oil tanker, changing the oil industry forever.

He became immensely successful
Meanwhile, the younger Alfred went back to Sweden to do something with Dynamite.

Ludvig was the first Russian Oil baron. He started the Russian oil industry. At one point in time, He manufactured 50% of world's oil. He was beating guys like Rothschild and Rockefeller hollow.
But the oil industry was tough, and poor Ludvig died at the age of 57.

Like today, even in 1888, newspapers didn't have fact checkers. So they mistakenly thought, Alfred had died. And then they posted obits like "The merchant of death is dead". "The killer is dead"
As a result, really upset that he was going to be remembered as a bad guy, Alfred rewrote his will and instituted a prize that is given to the world's best.

Sometimes, it is the strangest occurrence that inspires something, that changes the world for the good.
Funny to think that one of the most prestigious prizes in the world today, one that recognizes the world's best, one that acknowledges people who make this world a better place, was a result of a mistaken Obituary.
You can follow @thekaipullai.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:

By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.