This Day in History: br First Nobel Prizes Awarded.br December 10, 1901.br Named after Swedish inventor br Alfred Nobel, the prizes were awarded br in the fields of peace, literature, br chemistry, physics and medicine.br Having died five years earlier, br Nobel had directed the creation of br the prize to annually honor people who br "have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”.br Along with other high br explosives, Alfred Nobel br was the inventor of dynamite.br It is thought he created the br Nobel Prize due to his regret br over the uses of his inventions in war.br Notable winners of the prize br are Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, br Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King, Jr., br Mikhail Gorbachev and Barack Obama. .br Today, the prize is regarded br as one of the highest honors in br the various fields.