"If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied."
Alfred Nobel
Elektrokemiska Aktiebolaget (EKA), the forerunner to Eka Chemicals, was founded by one of the most famous Swedes throughout history – Alfred Nobel, born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833, was a descendant of Olof Rudbeck, the most well-known technical genius in Sweden of the 17th century.
The young Alfred learned the fundamentals of engineering from his father, and by the age of sixteen, was not only a competent chemist, but also fluent in five languages. Very interested in explosives, he began experimenting with nitroglycerin in his father's laboratory on a farm in the south of Stockholm in the 1860s.
An explosive idea
In 1866, Nobel invented dynamite. It is largely due to this invention that the St. Gothard Tunnel and the Panama Canal became realities. Sales of dynamite brought Nobel great wealth but also the accusation of the "salesman of death" – despite the fact that 90 percent of the dynamite sold was used for non-violent purposes.
Described as "the wealthiest vagabond in Europe", he had homes in six countries – complete with laboratories, as he was a workaholic. At the time of his death, 355 registered patents bear witness to the fact that Alfred Nobel had a wide range of interests in many fields of technology.
The Noble Nobel
Nobel died in 1896 – one year after the founding of Elektrokemiska Aktiebolaget. At the time of his death, his worldwide business empire consisted of more than 90 factories manufacturing explosives and ammunition. The opening of his will contained a great surprise for his family, friends, and the general public. Generous in humanitarian and scientific philanthropies, he left the bulk of his fortune in trust funds to establish the most highly regarded of international awards, the Nobel Prize. First awarded in 1901, the Nobel Prize is still the most honored award in the world.