1. INTRODUCTION:
“The Nobel Prize has existed for 117 years. In that time, a total of 916 prizes have been awarded to individuals and organizations, with some receiving the Nobel Prize more than once.
“In this article I examine the national, ethnic and gender composition of the laureates. I examine TRENDS over time, and I show how the allocation of Nobel awards reflects the history and the evolution of the world over the past 117 years.
“This article is not an exercise in nationalism or chauvinism. To the contrary, you’ll see that there is probably no more international population on the planet than the body of Nobel laureates. But to demonstrate this, it is necessary to identify each laureate’s background. This is the first objective of this article. A second, and related, objective is to demonstrate the changing composition of this population and to show that the trends over time reflect the world’s geopolitical and cultural evolution.
“The single most important finding is this: From the 1920s onward, there has been an enormous outflow of brain power from Germanic and other parts of Europe to North America. This was largely caused by the rise of National Socialism and Fascism, and a huge proportion of the Nobel laureates who were expatriates and refugees were Jewish.
“Additionally, I trace the gradual diversification of the Nobel Prize from a largely Euro-centric phenomenon to a worldwide one, and I examine the evolving gender distribution of awards.
“Finally, I provide samples of illustrious individuals and organizations who have received Nobel prizes.
2. THE OVERALL DISTRIBUTION, AND TRENDS:
“The most striking differences between the pre- and post-World War Two eras are shown in table One:
Table One:Comparison of Number of Nobel Prizes Awarded
Before and Since World War Two, by Country and by Region
|
Country or Area |
1901-2017 Number |
1901-2017 % |
1901-1945 Number |
1901-1045 % |
1946-2017 Number |
1946-2017 % |
|
world |
916 |
221 |
695 |
|||
|
Germany |
92 |
10% |
44 |
20% |
48 |
6.9% |
|
Germany-Austro-Hungary |
121 |
13% |
57 |
26% |
64 |
9% |
|
United States |
290 |
32% |
29 |
13.1% |
261 |
38% |
|
North America |
307 |
34% |
30 |
13.5% |
277 |
40% |
|
Europe |
446 |
49% |
178 |
81% |
268 |
38.5% |
|
Japan |
25 |
2.7% |
0 |
0% |
25 |
4% |
|
Emerging World |
64 |
7% |
4 |
1.8% |
59 |
8.5% |
“Table One shows the sharp decline in Europe’s share of Nobel prizes – from 81% up to World War Two, to 38.5% of all awards since then.
“Much of Europe’s dominance prior to World War Two was due to that of German-Austrian Europe.
“Since World War Two, it has been North America, particularly the United States, which has dominated the Nobel Prize, its share of awards rising from 13.5% to 40%.
“Furthermore, there has been a five-fold increase in the percentage of prizes awarded to laureates of the Emerging World – (Africa, Latin America and Asia).
“3. THE “ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX:”