by Anthony Parente

The Nobel Prize is an international award given annually to people for their achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Prize was as a result of Alfred Nobel's last will, which was signed on November 27, 1895. His will stated that five prizes would be given annually to "those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind." Nobel died in his home in San Remo, Italy on December 10, 1896.

The first Nobel Prize was given in 1901 five years after his death. Winners of this award are announced every year in October. During a formal ceremony on December 10, which is the day that Alfred Nobel passed away, they receive a diploma, gold medal and a sum of money. The prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden while the peace prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway.

In 1969 the Sveriges Riksbank (The Bank of Sweden) award the first prize in the field of economics. Since the field of economics was not included in Nobel's will it could not be called the Nobel Prize in Economics although many people commonly refer to it as such. Instead the award is titled The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

Since 1901 there have been 21 Italian and Italian Americans that have won this prestigious award. Just select from the list below to see the winners, year and what their contribution to that field was.

In the event that I excluded a recipient of the Nobel Prize who is of Italian descent please send me an email and I will get them added to this impressive list of winners.

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