No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1948 because “there was no suitable living candidate.” This is now acknowledged to be a tribute to Mohandas Gandhi, who was assassinated in January of that year. The 1949 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Lord (John) Boyd Orr of Brechin, of the United Kingdom, a physician; Alimentary Politician; Prominent organizer and Director, General Food and Agricultural Organization; President, National Peace Council and World Union of Peace Organizations. Isn’t “alimentary politician” an interesting choice of words? He was a nutritionist. In his Nobel lecture, he said: “Measured in time of transport and communication, the whole round globe is now smaller than a small European country was a hundred years ago. The world is now so small that a major event in any country affects all. . . . We are now physically, politically, and economically one world and nations so interdependent that the absolute national sovereignty of nations is no longer possible.”
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes created by the Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel. Since 1901 it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses” Over the next few months we’ll be introducing you to the past Nobel laureates, leading up to the award of the 2016 prize in October.
