Nobel Peace Prize

With President Barack Obama having won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, your students may be interested in some facts about the prize. Here are some facts you can convey about this prize.

• The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901. The prize was shared by Henry Dunant, founder of the International Red Cross, and Frederic Passy, an international pacifist.
• The prize can be awarded to an institution. The International Red Cross has won the prize three times.
• The prize does not have to awarded if there is not a suitable candidate for a given year, or if the world situation such as a war makes giving the prize impractical. (89 prizes have been awarded.)
• Candidates must be alive at the time they are nominated.
• Although being nominated several times, Mahatma Gandhi never won the prize.
• The most nominees for a given year occurred in 2009 when there were 205 nominees.