The Story of Alfred Nobel

This episode of John Nesbitt's long-running series of short subjects for MGM, THE PASSING PARADE concerns itself with a surprisingly well-known subject: ALfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, and the founder of the Nobel Prizes.

Or does it? How does a man go from making explosives used in war to being better known for prizes in pure science and for peace? The company he founded is still in existence as Akzonobel, and still quite prosperous. Yet it is the prizes that everyone knows. What caused the change in focus?

Nesbitt offers a somewhat melodramatic explanation.