Each year the Selection Committee of the Nobel Foundation and in accordance with the guiding principle of this achievement, 16 selection committees of experts pour through nominations for awarding the Nobel in five areas of study and contribution to humankind (physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace) to living recipients. A sixth award was added in 1968 by the Swedish Central Bank - the Prize in Economic Sciences. The Foundation was begun by the Swedish inventor/chemist Alfred Nobel, who amassed his fortune from his 355 patents, the most famous of which is dynamite. A French paper released a premature obituary in 1888 - titled "the Merchant of Death is Dead". This caused shattered Nobel and he worried about his legacies, causing him to rewrite his will and establish the Nobel Foundation and its associated global awards. He died in 1896 of a cerebral vascular accident.
Since their inception in 1901, the Nobels have awarded 627 prizes to 990 individuals and 28 organizations. An individual award may go to up to 3 individuals and/or organizations. 68 of the 627 awards have gone to 67 women (Madam Curie is the only recipient to receive 2 Nobels). Linus Pauling is the only recipient to receive 2 unshared awards.
The 2025 Recipients are:
Physics: John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit”
Chemistry: Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal–organic frameworks”
Physiology/Medicine: Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance”
Literature: László Krasznahorkai “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”
Peace: Maria Corina Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”
The Swedish Central Bank Prize in Economic Sciences: Joel Mokyr “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress”, and Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction”
Although Alfred Nobel's patents covered a wide range of applications, the Nobles do not recognize achievements in: Mathematics, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Computer Science, Technology and Engineering, or Psychology/Social Sciences. Major prizes are offered in these fields but the Nobel has always stood above the rest. As noted above, the recipient must be alive at the time of receipt. In 2025, there were 338 candidates put forth for a Nobel (of which 244 were individuals and 94 were organizations). Congratulations to all the nominees and the recipients.
On 1 October 2025, Dr. Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall died in her sleep at the age of 91. Born on 3 April 1934 in Hampstead, London, United Kingdom, she became known around the world for her groundbreaking field research in wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. Dr. Goodall's epic work shattered the scientific norms of the time.
As a young girl her dream was to visit Africa, meet the famous anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey, study the animals of the savannah and write books about them. Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey employed Jane in their work on early hominids in Olduvai Gorge during her first visit to the African continent. While working with her, they recognized her patience in study and determination to achieve and understand science. Drs. Leakey recommended she travel to Gombe, Tanzania and study the families of wild chimpanzees there. Jane always stated she'd have studied "any animal", but felt extremely lucky to have the chance to live amongst and learn from man's closest living relative in the wilds of their forest habitat.
Dr. Goodall's methods were deemed unorthodox by the scientific community. She named her subjects, she attributed emotions and personalities to the chimps, she used immersive field methods-living within their habitats, and most of all because she wrote and published for the general public (32 books with 15 for children and then was the subject of 40 films). Dr. Jane recognized her work would not be taken seriously without academic credentials, she received her PhD in ethology from the University of Cambridge in 1965. Her thesis was titled: "Behaviour of Free-Living Chimpanzees".
Her discoveries from her intense fieldwork led to many discoveries. And overturned previous scientific paradigms when she documented chimpanzees use and creation of tools, hunting and eating meat, and exhibiting complex emotional lives and personalities. Her long-term, immersive research in Gombe, Tanzania, revealed that chimpanzees exhibit behaviors such as emotional bonds, compassion, and warfare, which were previously considered uniquely human. Her work demonstrated the significant similarities between the species. Her work redefined what it means to be human.
But, Dr. Jane's contributions didn't end with her research in chimps. She became the United Nations Messenger of Peace and worked tirelessly throughout her life to raise awareness of the threats to wildlife and our environment, promoted conservation, and espoused the need for a sustainable relationship between our natural world: animals, people and the environment.
Dr. Goodall received numerous awards throughout her life-including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II and the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, Roots and Shoots-her global humanitarian and environmental program for young people of all ages in 1991 (now operating in 75 countries) and the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation which protects and fosters the core programs she created through her studies in 2017.
On 1 October 2025, we lost Dr. Jane. And though her legacies and teachings and discoveries will live on, the world is a lesser place without her.
"We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place." Dr. Jane Goodall,DBE
May we all consider this going forward.
