Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 in Sweden.  Nobelís family owned and operated a factory that manufactured a mixture of nitroglycerin and gunpowder for explosives. The factory opened in 1863. There were a number of serious explosions, which killed several people, including Nobelís brother. Nobel decided to experiment with nitroglycerin in order to find a safer alternative to gunpowder or nitroglycerin.  In 1866, Nobel discovered that a combination of nitroglycerin and a diatomaceous earth, called kieselguhr, exploded in a safer manner than previously used explosives. Nobel named his discovery ëdynamiteí.
Around the mid-nineteenth century, it was the Victorian era, as well as an age of industrial growth and development in Sweden and much of the world. Dynamite may have also helped develop and spur industrial growth when it was discovered. Nearly half a million Swedish people immigrated to the United States due to extreme poverty and poor economic conditions. Sweden experienced liberalization of government. In 1865, the Parliament of four estates was replaced with a two-chamber parliament. Also during the nineteenth century, some freedom of Religion was allowed and womenís rights were improved. The labor-movement also began in the mid-nineteenth century and grew in pace with industrialization.
Before dynamite, nitroglycerin was used as a common explosive. It is very unstable and explodes with great force when jolted or heated. The fragility of nitroglycerin made it difficult to transport or handle. This did not allow for mass use of nitroglycerin for industrial use. Dynamite found many great uses. Dynamite was used in quarrying, demolition, and mining, which allowed industrialization to occur rapidly.
When World War I began, dynamite was used to fuel war machines on both sides: the Allies and the Central Powers. Nobel would not have liked this, as he was a pacifist. Nobel realized that his invention could be used to harm people, not only help them. In his will, Nobel stated that his massive fortune was to be used to award prizes to people for achievements in physics, physiology, chemistry, medicine or literature. The prize was to be known as the Nobel Peace prize.
Even though we use dynamite today, it is not the same formula as Nobelís. In the United States, the standard dynamite is composed of nitroglycerin, ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate, wood pulp, and a little bit of calcium carbonate which neutralizes acids that may develop during storage.
Alfred Nobel died in 1896 in San Remo, Italy. He helped industrialize the world, make many industries safer and also changed weapon technology. Without Alfred Nobel and his dynamite, many more people would have died when building dams, mining, excavation or demolition.
 
 

Bibliography:
Morgan, Nina. Chemistry in Action, (1995, Oxford University Press, New York,    NY
Asimovís Chronology of Science & Discovery, (1989, Harper and Row Publisherís,  Inc., New York ,NY
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