The Nobel Prize - video clips

[Josefine]

This is information from the Nobel site


These are not my words I have copied them at the Nobel site

[Josefine]

The Prize
The Nobel Prize is the first international award given yearly since 1901 for
achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.
The prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma, and a prize amount.

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/images/shake.jpg>

In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) instituted the Prize
in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize.

In the beginning, more than three prize winners could share a Nobel Prize,
although this was never practiced. Paragraph four of the Statutes of the
Nobel Foundation was amended in 1968, restricting the number
of prizewinners to only three.

Previously, a person could be awarded a prize posthumously if the nomination
was made before February 1 of the same year. Since 1974, the Prize
may only go to a deceased person who has been named as prize winner
for the year (usually in October) but who dies before the Prize Award
Ceremony on December 10.

[Josefine]

The Nobel Diplomas

The festival day of the Nobel Foundation is on the 10th of December, the
anniversary of the death of the testator. The Prize Award Ceremony for
the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine and
Literature as well as for the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences
in Memory of Alfred Nobel - takes place at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
At this event, His Majesty the King of Sweden, hands each Laureate a
diploma, a medal and a document confirming the Prize amount, which in
2002 will total SEK 10 million (about USD 1 million) per full Prize.The
Nobel Peace Prize is presented on the same day at the Oslo City Hall by
the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of the
King of Norway.

The prize-awarding bodies decide the design of the diplomas. The Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for the Physics and
Chemistry diplomas, and since 1969 also for the Economic Sciences
diploma. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet is responsible for
the Physiology or Medicine diploma, the Swedish Academy for the
Literature diploma and the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the diploma
presented to the winners of the Peace Prize. Nowadays, the "Swedish"
diplomas have a uniform binding, provided by the bookbindery Fälth &
Hässler (earlier Hässlers Bokbinderi). This was not the case initially, since
the various prize committees decided the artistic design of the diplomas
based on their own wishes and resources. The Refsum bookbinding firm
was responsible for binding the "Norwegian" diplomas until 1986, when
the bookbinding firm of Kjell-Roger Josefson took over.

The artistic design of the diplomas has varied over the years (see
Register of artists and calligraphers), but the text has always followed the
same pattern in the Swedish and Norwegian languages, respectively.
The "Swedish" diplomas largely carry the same text, stating the person or
persons to whom the prize-awarding body has decided to present the
year’s Prize plus a citation explaining why. The Norwegian
diploma, on the other hand, has never included a Prize citation.

The Swedish Academy has always used individual designs related to each
Laureate. The artists have tried to summarize something of the
atmosphere and character of each author’s works. Because the
Prize winners are not announced until mid-October and the diplomas must
be ready before December 10, the diploma artist has only a few weeks to
summarize the collected works or personal attributes of each author.

Today each Nobel diploma is a unique work of art. The Literature diploma
is written on parchment, i.e. specially treated leather, using largely the
same technique as those of medieval book illustrators. The diplomas
given to the other Laureates are produced on specially ordered handmade
paper.


The Nobel relief on the Physiology or Medicine diploma is made of leather,
attached to the diploma. After extensive preparations, the bookbinder
then mounts the diploma in a leather cover made of the highest quality
goatskin. Nowadays the Physics diplomas are mounted in a blue leather
cover, Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine in red, Economic Sciences in
brown and Literature in the color that the artist has chosen. In addition,
the calligraphers have designed special gold monograms for each of the
Laureates on the outside of the diplomas, which are also found on the
boxes in which the diplomas rest. These diploma boxes are all made of
gray woven paperboard, lined inside with pigskin suede. The size of the
Nobel diplomas is 23 x 35 cms.

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/diplomas/diplomas-7.gif>

Some examples of the Diplomas

Peace 2000 - Kim Dae Jung
<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/peace/laureates/2000/dae-jung-diploma.jpg>


Physics 2001 - Wolfgang Ketterle
<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/2001/ketterle-diploma.jpg>


The 1998 Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel:
Amartya Sen
<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/economics/laureates/1998/sen-diploma.jpg>

[Josefine]

The Medal for Physics and Chemistry

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/medals/phys_chem.jpg>
The medal of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences represents Nature
in the forms of a goddess resembling Isis, emerging from the clouds and
holding in her arms a cornucopia. The veil which covers her cold and
austere face is held up by the Genius of Science.

The inscription reads:

Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes

loosely translated "And they who bettered life on earth by new found mastery."
(Word for word: inventions enhance life which is beautified through art.)

The words are taken from Vergilius Aeneid, the 6th song, vers 663;
Lo, God-loved poets, men who spake things worthy Phoebus' heart;
and they who bettered life on earth by new-found mastery

The name of the laureate is engraved on the plate below the figures, and
the text "REG. ACAD. SCIENT. SUEC." stands for The Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences.

Designed by Erik Lindberg




The Medal for Physiology or Medicine

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/medals/phys_med.jpg>


The medal of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute represents
the Genius of Medicine holding an open book in her lap, collecting the
water pouring out from a rock in order to quench a sick girl's thirst.

The inscription reads:

Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes

loosely translated "And they who bettered life on earth by new found
mastery."
(Word for word: inventions enhance life which is beautified through art.)

The words are taken from Vergilius Aeneid, the 6th song, vers 663;
Lo, God-loved poets, men who spake things worthy Phoebus' heart;
and they who bettered life on earth by new-found mastery


The name of the laureate is engraved on the plate below the figures, and
the text "REG. UNIVERSITAS MED. CHIR. CAROL." stands for the
Karolinska Institute.

Designed by Erik Lindberg



The Medal for Literature


<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/medals/literature.jpg>The medal of
the Swedish Academy represents a young man sitting under a laurel tree
who, enchanted, listens to and writes down the song of the Muse.

The inscription reads:

Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes

loosely translated "And they who bettered life on earth by new found
mastery."
(Word for word: Inventions enhance life which is beautified through art.)

The words are taken from Vergilius Aeneid, the 6th song, vers 663;
Lo, God-loved poets, men who spake things worthy Phoebus' heart;
and they who bettered life on earth by new-found mastery

The name of the Leaureate is engraved on the plate below the figures,
and the text "ACAD. SUEC." stands for the the Swedish Academy.

Designed by Erik Lindberg



The Medal for Peace

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/medals/peace_face.jpg>The face of
the medal of the Norwegian Nobel Committee shows Alfred Nobel in a
pose slightly different from that of the other medals. The inscription is the
same.

The other side of the Peace Medal represents a group of three men
forming a fraternal bond.

The inscription reads:

Pro pace et fraternitate gentium

translated "For the peace and brotherhood of men."

Prix Nobel de la Paix, the relevant year, and the name of the Laureate are
engraved on the edge of the medal.



Designed by Gustav Vigeland



The Medal for the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/medals/economy_face.jpg>
<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/medals/economy.jpg>

The medal for the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel
shows the North Star emblem of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences,
dating from 1815, with the words "Kungliga Vetenskaps Akademien" (The
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences) around the edge.

The upper half of the face of the medal depicts Alfred Nobel, but in a pose
different from the one appearing on the Nobel Prize medals.

Around the upper edge are the words
Sveriges Riksbank till Alfred Nobels Minne 1968
"The Bank of Sweden, in memory of Alfred Nobel, 1968."

The lower half displays the Bank's crossed horns of plenty. This design
distinguishes it from the medals of the five prizes awarded under the
terms of Alfred Nobel's 1895 will.

The name of the Prize Winner is engraved on the edge of the medal.

Designed by Gunvor Svensson-Lundqvist

[Josefine]

Alfred Nobel; Man behind the Prizes


<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/alfred-nobel/images/alfred-lab.jpg>


Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden to a family of
engineers. His family was descended from Olof Rudbeck, the best-known
technical genius of Sweden's 17th century era as a great power in
northern Europe. At age 9, he moved with his family to Russia where he
and his brothers were given first class education in the humanities and
natural sciences by private teachers.

Nobel invented dynamite in 1866 and later built up companies and
laboratories in more than 20 countries all over the world. A holder of
more than 350 patents, he also wrote poetry and drama and even
seriously considered becoming a writer.

The idea of giving away his fortune was no passing fancy for Nobel.
Efforts to promote peace were close to his heart and he derived
intellectual pleasure from literature, while science built the foundation for
his own activities as a technological researcher and inventor.


On November 27, 1895, Nobel signed his final will and testament at the
Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris. He died of a cerebral haemorrhage in
his home in San Remo, Italy on December 10, 1896.



<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/alfred-nobel/images/signature.gif>

[Josefine]

The Prize Award Ceremonies and Banquets on December 10



Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been presented to the Laureates at
ceremonies on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. As
stipulated in the will of the Swedish-born inventor and international
industrialist Alfred Nobel, which was opened after his death in 1896, the
Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine and Literature
are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, while the Nobel Peace Prize is
awarded in Oslo, Norway. Since 1969 an additional prize has been
awarded at the ceremony in Stockholm, the Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of
Sweden) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, which
was established in 1968 on the occasion of the Riksbank's 300th
anniversary. The Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm has, almost without
exception, taken place at the Stockholm Concert Hall (Stockholms
Konserthus) since 1926. In Oslo, the ceremony was for many years held
at the Nobel Institute. From 1947 till 1990, the setting was the auditorium
of the University of Oslo. In 1990 the event moved to the Oslo City Hall.



<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/dec_10/nobfest-innan-big.jpg>
Stockholm Concert Hall



At the Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm, presentation speeches extoll
the Laureates and their discovery or work, after which His Majesty the
King of Sweden hands each Laureate a diploma and a medal. The
Ceremony is followed by a banquet at the Stockholm City Hall
(Stockholms Stadshus) for about 1,300 people, including 250 students.
With a few exceptions, the Nobel Banquet has taken place at the City Hall
since 1930. The Nobel Festivities in Stockholm are arranged by the Nobel
Foundation and are primarily an academic celebration focusing on science
and literature. In addition to the Nobel Laureates and their families, Their
Majesties the King and Queen and other members of the Royal Family of
Sweden are guests of honour at both the Prize Award Ceremony and the
Banquet. Representatives of the Swedish Government and Parliament
also participate. International guests enjoy priority, especially those who
represent the sciences and cultural life. Swedish guests are people who
participate in Nobel-related functions in one capacity or another, aid the
sciences through donations or otherwise support the Foundation and the
Prize Awarding Institutions.


<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/dec_10/nobfest-matbord-big.jpg>
Stockholm City Hall



In Oslo the Nobel Peace Prize is presented by the Chairman of the
Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of Their Majesties the King
and Queen of Norway, the Government, Storting representatives and an
invited audience. Several hundred seats are reserved for persons with
special reasons for wishing to attend the ceremony. Later the same day,
the Norwegian Nobel Committee hosts a banquet in honour of the
Laureate, with specially invited guests.


<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/dec_10/fredsutdelning.jpg>
Oslo City Hall


Since the Nobel Prize is regarded by far as the most prestigious prize in
the world, the Award Ceremonies as well as the Banquets in Stockholm
and Oslo on December 10 have been transformed from local Swedish and
Norwegian arrangements into major international events that receive
worldwide coverage by the print media, radio and television.

[Josefine]

From the First Nobel Prize Ceremony
the Tenth of December 1901

by Folke Henschen



On December 10, 1975 the 75th Nobel banquet was held. On that day,
Folke Henschen told radio listeners his personal memories of the very first
Nobel Prize awards, which he experienced as a student marshal. What
follows here is a more detailed version.




After long protracted negotiations, partly with the French government
(which sought to impose a very hefty tax on the Nobel estate) and partly
with the Nobel family, the first awarding of five Nobel Prizes could finally
take place on the 10th of December 1901--four of them given out in
Stockholm and one, the Peace Prize, in Christiania, as Oslo was then
called. Five years had passed since Alfred Nobel had died in San Remo,
on December 10, 1896.

In the days leading up to the awarding of prizes, there was certain tension
in the air. The prize winners' names had been kept secret--they were not,
as now, revealed months in advance. When three distinguished German-
speaking gentlemen arrived by train from the south and were taken to the
Grand Hotel, it was clear that they must be the winners. International
traffic was not as commonplace then as now.


<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/eyewitness/henschen-1.gif>
Photo of Folke Henschen kindly provided by his son, Anders Henschen


The Prizes were presented in the large hall of the Royal Swedish Academy
of Music1 at Nybroviken. The unpretentious, rather boring hall had been
richly decorated under the supervision of the much sought-after royal
architect, Agi Lindegren. As one of the so-called student marshals, decked
out in student cap and a broad silk blue-and-gold band over my left
shoulder, I had an excellent view of everything from my seat in the
gallery to the right of the podium. The large bandstand where the royal
orchestra was to play was completely decorated with plants and pine
boughs. Centered at the back of the stage, beneath a giant laurel wreath
tied with blue-and-gold ribbon, was a large broad obelisk with a white bust
of Alfred Nobel. At the front there was a lectern and four more obelisks
with the inscriptions PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, MEDICINE, LITERATURE. Just
in front of the stage were three armchairs for royalty, and behind these
was a semicircle of chairs for the prize winners, the presenters, and
attendants. Back of the semicircle there were places for all the
intellectuals, distinguished officials, and military officers from Stockholm
and around the country.


The hall filled gradually with people dressed in festive attire. Then, the
three current prize winners entered and sat down, without music or
fanfare as now is customary. First came the stately German, Wilhelm
Conrad von Röntgen, with his large dark professor's beard, then the
smiling, blond, clean-shaven Dutchman, Jakobus Hendricus van t'Hoff,
followed by the elegant German Medicine prize winner, Emil Adolf von
Behring. Last came the French minister, who was to receive the Literature
Prize for his countryman, the poet, Sully Prudhomme, who was ill. Finally,
the royal family entered: in the middle, Crown Prince Gustaf--later to
become King Gustaf V--standing in for King Oscar who had been forced to
travel to Christiania because of the threatening break-up of the Swedish
Norwegian union. With him, came the l9-year old Prince Gustaf Adolf
(much later our Gustaf VI Adolf) together with Prince Eugen. The seating
arrangement meant that the royalty sat more or less with their backs to
the prize winners and presenters.


<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/eyewitness/musicacad.jpg>
The first Prize Award Ceremony at the Musical Academy in Stockholm



When the royal family was seated, the royal orchestra burst forth with a
pompous festival overture by Ludwig Norman. Thereupon, the Nobel
Foundation chairman, the former Prime Minister E G Boström, rose to the
lectern and described in a speech of some length Alfred Nobel's life,
character, discoveries, and his warm wish to benefit mankind with annual
awards from his fortune.

Thereafter, the Swedish Academy's powerful permanent secretary, C D af
Wirsén, came forward and read a "poem"-- or so it states in the program
I still have. I still remember his deep grandiloquent voice: "No desire
became duty, no striving that bore down on Swedish shoulders" -- and the
end: "Two things induce us to bear the heavy responsibility: the will of
Death and our Mother's honor." Then followed an augmented men's
quartet that sang the old mighty student song, "Open thy gates, thou
radiant temple garden of memory".

At last, the actual presentation of prizes began. In regard to the scientific
prizes, the presentations were made by representatives of the two
institutes that selected the recipients, rather than by experts in the
pertinent fields, as later became usual. Thus, the old Director General of
the National Archives, C T Odhner, chairman of the Academy of Sciences,
gave an account of how the Physics Prize Laureate, Röntgen, discovered
the radiation that is named after him and recited the bases for the
Chemistry Laureate, van t'Hoff's discoveries pertaining to osmotic
pressure and chemical dynamics, both of which subjects were certainly
foreign to him. After each statement, he stepped down from the podium
and led the appropriate prize winner forward to receive his diploma and
medal from the hand of the Crown Prince.

Thereafter, the President of Karolinska Institutet, Professor Karl Mörner,
came to the lectern and described Behring's discovery of anti-diptheria
serum, whereupon Behring received his award in the same way. Finally,
Wirsén spoke about Sully Prudhomme and read part of his famous
symbolic poem, "Le vase brisé" (The Broken Vase). The vase has a
crack "tout bas, invisible au monde" which the poor vessel feels
spreading, so that its contents leak out. "Il est brisé, n'y touchez pas"--
touch it not! Yes, certainly it was beautiful, but...

And so the awarding of the prizes came to an end. The Royal Orchestra
played a march by August Söderman, the royal family rose, and the hall
emptied. It was not far to the Grand Hotel2 where a festival banquet
stood ready and to which even we marshals were invited. There were
many toasts and a splendid ambience. And in the small hours, two
marshals carried the little van t'Hoff in a gold chair around the room.


And so it was, then, that the first--and one could say historic--Nobel Prize
ceremony ended.




"Bohemians" Contemplated Protests


The day after, my parents were visited by some guests of the previous
night's celebration, among them the famous meteorologist, Professor
Hugo Hildebrandsson, from Uppsala (who was married to Wirsén's sister).
Roaring with laughter, Uncle Hugo reported that "the young bohemians"
were extremely upset that Sully Prudhomme got the Literature Prize and
contemplated sending a letter of protest to Leo Tolstoy. And who were
these "young bohemians"? Yes, they were Verner von Heidenstam, Oscar
Levertin, Per Hallström, Ellen Key, and probably August Strindberg. That
is, the generation which is now called the "90s classicists".

To award prizes in science is very hard, as I know from my own
experience over several years of chairing the Medical Nobel Committee.
But to award annually an international Nobel Prize in Literature so as to
win approval in all quarters and among all literary tastes borders on the
impossible!


1The Nobel Award Ceremony was held at the old Royal Swedish Academy
of Music from 1901 to 1925. From 1926 onwards it has been held at the
Stockholm Concert Hall, with a few exceptions.

2The Banquet was held at the Grand Hotel in 1901-1929 and from 1930
onwards in the City Hall of Stockholm.

Translated by Robert E. Savage

[Josefine]

Reminiscences of the Nobel Festival, 1950*

by Philip S. Hench
First published November 6, 2001



When Dr. Kendall and I were asked to tell you of our recent trip to
Stockholm, we wondered at first whether it would be entirely proper for
us to discuss publicly an event in which we participated so personally. But
on second thought, it seemed appropriate that we make to you our staff
colleagues, some report of the 1950 Festival because Dr. Kendall and I
went to Sweden as representatives of the Mayo Clinic, the Mayo
Foundation and their allied institutions. Were always happily and proudly
conscious of that fact. In our opinion, the awards we received belong truly
to all the men and women of the Mayo Clinic because it was the spirit of
co-operative endeavor, the fundamental credo of this institution, which
made possible the work which resulted in our trip to Stockholm. My regret
is that those who first engendered that spirit, Dr. Will Mayo and Dr.
Charlie Mayo, are not here tonight.

At the Mayo Clinic no man works alone, and through the several years
during which I have been occupied with the problem of my special
interest, I have had the sustained and loyal support of the entire staff,
especially of the Board of Governors and of its Research Administrative
Committee. If I were to mention a few individual names I would recall the
long hours of helpful discussions and the other assistance which I
received from Drs. Alvarez, Bollman, Butsch, Comfort, Drips, Lundy,
Magath, Mason, McKenzie, Mussey, Osterberg, Power, Randall,
Rynearson, Sanford, Snell and Sprague, as they and other associates
gave me encouragement in my repeated attempts to identify the
helpful "substance X" of jaundice and pregnancy.

Most significant has been my association with Drs. Kendall, Slocumb and
Polley. I know that the names of Charles Slowcomb and Howard Polley
will always be associated in your minds with the award and with the
events which I shall now describe. Permit me to tell the story of the 1950
Nobel Festival in an informal, and sometimes in a rather personal, manner.


Mrs. Hench, her mother - Mrs. John H. Kahler, our 7-year-old son, John,
and I were joined in New York City by our three older children, Mary,
Kahler and Susan. After a pleasant crossing on the Liberté and after
twenty busy hours in Paris, we took the Nord Express for the thirty-six-
hour journey from Paris to Stockholm. As we paused in the station at
Copenhagen, we were met by a group of Danish friends, officers of the
Danish Society for Rheumatology and their wives, who presented my
ladies with flowers and made us feel very welcome.



Arrival in Stockholm
On Friday morning, December 8, our train approached Stockholm through
a countryside freshly covered by a heavy snowfall. Every scene looked
like a Christmas card. It was quite sunny but cold. At the station we were
met by a representative of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and
one from the American Embassy, by Professors Göran Liljestrand and
Nanna Svartz of Kungl. Karolinska Mediko-Kirurgiska Institutet (The Royal
Caroline Medico-Chirurgical Institute) and by Docent Erik Jonsson, of
Södersjukhuset.

From the station we were driven to the Grand Hôtel, which was being
taken over by the new and old Nobel laureates and their families. To our
party were assigned four front rooms and a parlor. From our third-floor
windows we had a magnificent view. Stockholm, a city of 730,000
persons, is built on islands and peninsulas, with many expanses of water.
Just opposite us and across the Strömmen inlet was the Royal Palace, the
Riksdaghus and the nearby Royal Opera House.

In our rooms we found many invitations and the official instructions as to
what we had to do, where we should be and what we should wear during
the next four days. To each of the new laureates and his family was
assigned an attaché from the Swedish Foreign Office who served as
escort and aide for the next few days. Our courteous escort was Mr.
Gunnar Ljungdahl, who was of great assistance to us during our stay in
Stockholm.



<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/eyewitness/hench/images/fig2.jpg>
Paying their hosts a real compliment. Philip Hench (center) with his family
during the Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm.



To our rooms came each day a small army of friendly newspaper folk
who seemed to be fascinated by the fact that such a large family had
journeyed so far to the Nobel Festival. Two reporters were especially
impressed by the inclusion of my wife's mother, and one newspaper
headline read "Mother-in-law Attends Nobel Festival." When, five weeks
earlier, Dr. Hilding Bergstrand, rector of the Caroline Institute, had
invited my family to the ceremony, I had cabled our acceptance gladly,
but with some misgivings, lest it be considered presumptuous for me to
bring the whole family. But we soon discovered happily that they all, our
official hosts of the Nobel Foundation and of the Caroline Institute, the
newsfolk and the various Swedish friends we met, felt that we had paid
them a real compliment in bringing the whole family. Soon our four
children, especially 7-year-old John, and the charming, 17-year-old
daughters of Dr. Reichstein and the American novelist, Mr. William
Faulkner, became the delight and daily target of the reporters and news
photographers, who understandingly became much more interested in
these young people than in the older guests.



Saturday, December 9
The Nobel Festival of 1950 was an event of special significance, for it
commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel
Prizes. Invitations to the celebration had been sent to each of the (circa)
100 living laureates of previous years, and about 25 of them were on
hand. (Curiously, no former winner of the Nobel Prize for literature was
present.)

On the next afternoon, Saturday, came our first chance to meet our hosts
and these laureates at a reception at the Nobel Foundation House.
Presiding, at this colorful reception were the councillors of the Nobel
Foundation and the Foundation's president, His Excellency, Dr. Lars Birger
Ekeberg, the chief marshall of the Swedish Court, a tall distinguished man
with a crown of white hair.

That evening, at the Grand Hôtel, the rector and faculty of the Caroline
Institute, which annually awards the Nobel Prize for Physiology and
Medicine, gave a beautiful dinner for the 3 new and for the 11 previous
medical laureates who were on hand. The latter, with the year of their
awards were: Archibald V. Hill, 1922; Otto Warburg, 1931; Edgar D.
Adrian, 1932; Henry H. Dale, 1936; Corneille Heymans, 1938; Gerhard
Domagk 1939; Henrik Dam, 1943; Herbert S. Gasser, 1944; Alexander
Fleming, 1945; Ernst B. Chain, 1945 and Paul H. Müller, 1948.1 Present
also were the respective diplomatic representatives. We were happy to
meet our American ambassador, Mr. William Butterworth, and Mrs. Butterworth.

During the dinner Professor Bergstrand, rector of the Caroline Institute, in
a brief speech graciously welcomed the senior laureates and then
proposed a toast in honor of the 3 new ones to which the latter
responded.



Sunday, December 10

The next day, Sunday, December 10, was the principal day, the
anniversary death of Alfred Nobel in 1896. The "Solemn Festival of the
Nobel Foundation," as it is called, was to be held in the Concert Hall from
4 to 6:30 p.m., then in the City Hall from 7 p.m. Until about 2 a.m.


At 11 o'clock Sunday morning, the old and new laureates went with
officials of the Nobel Foundation to lay wreaths on the grave of Nobel in
the North Cemetery. Spokesman at the brief but impressive ceremony
was Sir Lawrence Bragg of Great Britain, winner of the Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1915.

On returning from the cemetery, we were taken about noon to the
Concert Hall to receive instructions as to how to conduct ourselves at the
afternoon ceremony. As we entered the main hall we found workmen
preparing the great auditorium, arranging the decorations, flowers and
seating. Television operators were testing their apparatus for the first
public demonstration of television in Sweden. A television screen, placed
on the edge of the platform, reflected their manipulations. As the
laureates and their escorts entered, one of the television staff turned his
camera on them. The distinguished laureates, like a group of American
youngsters, became fascinated as they saw themselves and their
companions on the screen. Most of the European laureates probably were
seeing television for the first time. The laureates in physics, some of
whom probably discovered some of the fundamental principles used in
radio and television, appeared to be as fascinated as the rest.


When order was restored, the laureates were told where to assemble,
where to march onto the platform, where and when to make the
prescribed three "reverences" to the King and one to the audience, and
where each would sit. Apparently, some of the men were out of practice
in bowing to royalty and it was amusing to see dignified men practicing
nodding solemnly to an empty chair, often in too stilted or too vigorous a
fashion at first, then in a more subtle, polished manner. Apparently, Sir
Henry Dale was not satisfied with the short, unsophisticated nods which
Dr. Kendall and I were making, for he came over to us, chuckled and
said "For this one afternoon you two fellows will just have to lay aside
your democratic principles, and really throw yourselves into this thing!"
After a quick lunch in our hotel rooms, we all dressed in formal attire.






"The Solemn Festival of the Nobel Foundation"
Sharply at 3:15 p.m. the various attachés from the Swedish Foreign Office
came for their respective laureates and their families. The crowds of
people gathered outside the hotel, along the streets to the Concert Hall
and especially in the square outside the hall provided a very friendly
atmosphere for the laureates and their families, but also produced what
my daughters Mary and Susan described as a pleasantly uneasy feeling of
being "Queen for a Day."

Meeting in a room on the mezzanine floor, the laureates were lined up,
the new ones first, each with an escort from the appropriate awarding-
institution. As I took my place beside my escort, Dr. Nils Antoni, professor
of neurology at the Caroline Institute, I met Dr. Tadeus Reichstein, of
Switzerland, for the first time. His airplane had been long been delayed by
bad weather, and he and his daughter Ruth had arrived just an hour
previously. His wife, on another plane, turned back and unfortunately,
never did arrive. Behind the new laureates came the older laureates; on
the basis of the year of his award, the senior laureate was Professor Max
von Laue of Germany, who had won the physics prize thirty-six years
before (1914).

When all were gathered the laureates and their escorts proceeded
downstairs to an anteroom offstage, where an official photograph of the
new recipients was quickly taken. The three awarding faculties were
already on stage. After a few moments, promptly at 4:00, was heard a
loud fanfare of trumpets announcing the entry of the King and the royal
family, who proceeded to their seats as an orchestra played "The King's
Anthem." Then another loud and exciting fanfare provided the signal for
the laureates to make their entrance. Two tall doors at the rear center of
the platform were opened with ceremonial slowness by uniformed ushers.
Then, to the music of the Concert Hall orchestra, and as the King and the
assemblage rose, the laureates marched onto the stage, stood for a
moment in front of their seats, made their first reverence to the King, and
sat down.

On either side of the platform were seated the officers and councillors of
the Nobel Foundation and the faculties or members of the three prize-
awarding bodies in Sweden: the Royal Swedish Academy of Science
(physics and chemistry), the Royal Caroline Medico-Chirurgical Institute
(physiology and medicine), and the Swedish Academy (literature). Seated
obliquely in front were, on the audience's right, the sponsors who were to
read the citations for each prize; on the left, the 8 new pristagarna (prize
takers), as they are called in Sweden.2 Behind the latter were seated, in
left front seats, 25 laureates of previous years,3 making a total of 33
winners. Such a number will hardly be assembled again until the seventy-
fifth or one hundredth festival, twenty-five or fifty years from now.

If, as the papers said, the assemblage on the stage provided a dignified
showing, the view from the platform was equally impressive. Those on the
stage saw 2,000 people in formal attire, many wearing, colorful ribbons
and decorations. The auditorium was packed; extra seats completely filled
the aisles.


[img]http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/eyewitness/hench/images/fig5.jpg
[/img]
The 50th anniversary of the Prize Award Ceremony at the Stockholm
Concert Hall in 1950. Photo shows all 25 living laureates who attended the
ceremony seated on stage while the King and other members of the Royal
Family joined the audience at the auditorium floor.


Seated in the front center were King Gustaf VI Adolf, Queen Louise and
the royal family: Prince Bertil, Princess Sibylla and Prince Wilhelm. That
morning, I had been puzzled to note that the King, was to sit, not on the
platform with the officials and laureates, but on the auditorium floor with
the audience. Two informed people told me: "It is traditional at Nobel
Festivals for the King and the royal family to honor the laureates by
leaving the stage to them. Rising from his seat placed just in front of the
audience, the King welcomes each recipient and is 'thus the first of the
people' to honor each prize winner." Assuming that my informants were
correct, one must agree that by these actions the King pays a most
gracious courtesy to the honored guests. Sitting in the front row just to
the left of the royal family was, to my delighted surprise, my whole
family. On the other side were Mrs. E. C. Kendall and other relatives of
the new recipients: Ruth Reichstein, Marianne Diels, Mrs. Powell, Mrs.
Walker, who is Professor Powell's sister, and Jill Faulkner. In the second
row center were the members of the royal household, and in the next
three rows were the prime minister, the cabinet and the diplomatic corps.

The proceedings were opened by the president of the Nobel Foundation,
His Excellency, the Lord High Steward, Dr. Ekeberg, who welcomed the
royal family and guests, and then paid a moving tribute to the Late King
Gustaf V, who as Crown Prince and King had presented personally almost
all the Nobel Awards during the last fifty years and who had so recently
died, on October 29, 1950, at the age of 92 years. During the tribute
everyone rose. Then Dr. Ekeberg reviewed briefly the life of Alfred Nobel.
For the radio and television audience he spoke in Swedish. But in the
programs, the addresses and citations were printed in English, French or
German.

The prizes were conferred in the order in which they had been mentioned
in Nobel’s will: first that for physics, next that for chemistry, then
the prize for physiology and medicine and finally that for literature.
According to custom, Professor Cecil Powell of Bristol, England, winner of
the physics prize, remained seated during the general citation
or "proclamation" by his sponsor; then arose for the direct citation (short
address). As he descended the stairs to receive the award the trumpeters
again sounded the fanfare, and the King rose and led in the applause as
all on the stage and in the auditorium rose to join in.

After Professor Otto Diels, of Kiel, Germany, and Professor Kurt Alder, of
Cologne, received jointly the prize for chemistry, Professor Liljestrand,
secretary of the Nobel Committee of the Caroline Institute and professor
of pharmacology, explained the basis for the 1950 awards in physiology
and medicine. Unlike other sponsors, he used no notes in making his
citation, but spoke dramatically and effectively memory. For fifteen
minutes he reviewed in Swedish the recent work on adrenal physiology
and the background of that work. Then, turning to the 3 recipients who
arose for the direct citation, he spoke to Dr. Kendall in English, to Dr.
Reichstein in German, to me in English, and then to all three collectively in
English.


Professor Liljestrand closed his address with the traditional and stirring
formula: "I now have the honor of asking you to accept the Nobel Prize
for 1950 from the hand of His Gracious Majesty, the King." Then the 3
recipients started down the stairs together, except for a momentary
interruption as the junior Rochester delegate tripped on the edge of a
carpet.

I have not not found out what the King said to Dr. Kendall or vice versa.
With a twinkle in his eye, Dr. Kendall told me: "That's a secret." But I
suspect that King Gustaf Adolf asked Dr. Kendall: "How do you pronounce
17-hydrov-11-dehydrocorticosterone?"

After the awards were presented a more worrisome duty had to be
performed by the recipients. Passing on, one was supposed to walk
backwards about 15 to 20 feet, keeping one's face to the royal family,
until the steps leading back up to the platform were reached. The motion
pictures later revealed clearly how successful or otherwise each recipient
was in accomplishing this feat. Having seen the motion pictures, I must
conclude that walking backward gracefully is not one of the things well
taught to members staff of the Mayo Clinic. But from what I heard of the
good humor and democratic instincts of King Gustaf Adolf. I feel certain
that he gave everyone an "A" for effort.

Back in our seats, we took a quick look at the diplomas and medals. Each
medical diploma was encased in a heavy blue leather folder, beautifully
embossed. Inside, the 2 pages of the diploma were illustrated by colored
hand drawings of certain historic buildings in Stockholm. The Swedish
lettering beneath can be translated as follows: "The Royal Caroline
Medico-Chirurgical Institute which, according to the will which was made
on 27 November 1895, by Alfred Nobel, has the right to reward with the
Nobel Prize the most important discovery by which the physiological and
medical sciences have been guided in recent times, has this day decided
to award the 1950 prize to Philip S. Hench, Edward C. Kendall and Tadeus
Reichstein jointly for their discoveries relating to adrenal cortical
hormones, their structure and biological effects. Stockholm, 26 October,
1950" (the date the awards were voted). Immediately below the date are
the signatures of Rector Bergstrand and 32 of the 34 other permanent
voting faculty members who choose the recipients.



The medal, of almost pure gold, carries on the obverse the Erik Lindberg
profile of Alfred Nobel (1833-I896). On the reverse the Spirit of Medicine,
holding an open book upon her knees, is collecting in a basin water
springing from a rock in order to quench the thirst of a sick young maiden.

On a cartouche at the bottom is engraved the recipient's name. Around
the margin of all the Swedish Nobel medals runs this inscription from
Vergil's Aeneid: Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes. This can be
translated freely: "How pleasant it is to see human life enriched by the
inventiveness of the arts."

Two large overflow audiences of about 3,500 persons watched the
ceremony on television in another auditorium in the Concert Hall and in
the near-by Royal Biographic Theater. Between each of the presentations
of awards symphonic music was played beautifully by the Concert Hall
orchestra relegated for the occasion to the top balcony.


Concluding the ceremony was the presentation of the prizes for literature.
The belatedly awarded 1949 prize went to William Faulkner, the shy, quiet
American writer from Oxford Mississippi. The 1950 prize was given to Lord
Bertrand Russell, the English writer, philosopher and mathematician, a
small, dynamic figure with chiseled features and flowing silver hair. As the
entire audience sang the Swedish National Anthem, "Du gamla du fria,"
this part of the festivities ended.




The Nobel Banquet in the City Hall
Cars took us to Stadshuset, the City Hall, one of the most beautiful
buildings I have ever seen. Because about 1,000 people were to attend
this fiftieth Jubilee Nobel Banquet, it was held, not upstairs in the Gold
Hall, as in recent years, but downstairs in the Great Blue Hall. As the
other guests were being seated, the 270 honored guests assembled in the
Gold Hall and in the Prince's Gallery. Introduced by a fanfare from
trumpeters, dressed in medieval garb, the honored guests, to the
accompaniment of orchestral music, proceeded along the balcony and
down the marble stairs to their tables. At the head table, Dr. Kendall was
seated between Marshal Ekeberg's wife and Frau von Laue; Mrs. Hench
sat between Professor Powell and Bertrand Russell. Mrs. Kendall's table-
companion was Prime Minister Tage Erlander. I was seated between the
prime minister's wife, Fru Aina Erlander and the foreign minister, Östen
Undén. Mrs. Kahler's escort was Professor Warburg, (prize winner in
medicine, 1931). At near-by tables sat Mrs. Albert J. Lobb; Mr. Lobb
represented the Mayo Foundation and his fellow regents of the University
of Minnesota. Also present was my former associate at the Mayo Clinic,
Dr. Edward Rosenberg of Chicago, and Mrs. Rosenberg, who honored us
by making the journey to Stockholm with us. My children were happy to
sit with one of Alfred Nobel's grand nieces and with Professor Domagk's
daughter. Sixteen members of the Nobel family were present.


The banquet itself was served in a picturesque and colorful manner.
Cooked by 70 people in the kitchen, the food was distributed by 132
waiters and waitresses with almost military precision under the
supervision of 6 head-waitresses, a triumph in culinary logistics! As each
new course was to be served, the waiters appeared on the balcony and to
music marched in formation down the marble stairs and thence to their
assigned tables.

The table appointments, and decorations were individualistic, and included
tall candelabra alternating with flowers and with smaller candle-holders
each made in the form of the letter
"N." One of the dramatic moments came at desert time. Suddenly, except
for the candles on the tables, all the lights in the Great Blue Hall were
extinguished. The orchestra struck up a lively tune and 124 waiters
appeared on the balcony, each carrying an illuminated tray of sculptured
ice cream. On each tray was a tall figure made of clear ice: some were
icy replicas of the City Hall. Other waiters carried separate letters of the
alphabet carved in ice, consecutive waiters spelling out the names of the
different prizes: chemistry, physiology and medicine, etc. One group of
letters in ice spelled out Nobel 50 År (years). Each iced figure was
illuminated internally by electric light bulbs of different colors which, with
small batteries, had been frozen inside the ice. The colorful procession
was led by a captain of waiters, who held on high, a large iced and
internally lighted figure of an eagle. "The whole made a magnificent
spectacle resembling an ice floe which slowly and majestically swept down
the stairway on the shoulders of the waiters"; thus the procession was
described in one newspaper.

Early during the banquet toasts were proposed: one for His Majesty, the
King, one in memory of Alfred Nobel. Between courses Professor Robert
Fåhraeus of the department of pathology of the University of Uppsala
gave the main address of welcome to the laureates. Then, at various
times during and after the dinner, came brief acceptance speeches of the
new laureates in the following sequence: Russell, Kendall, Hench,
Reichstein, Diels, Alder, Powell, Faulkner. The trumpets on the balcony
would sound their fanfare. Then, after a moment of disconcerting silence,
the next speaker's name was announced over the amplifiers. To give his
acceptance speech each prize taker had to rise from the head table, walk
up eleven marble steps to a rostrum on the first landing, then turn and
face the awesome assemblage. To climb those eleven stairs to that lonely
rostrum and to express one's deep feelings in an adequate and individual
manner to that distinguished audience, many of whom had on previous
occasions heard the acceptance speeches of some of the world’s
outstanding literary and scientific figures, was one of the most difficult
assignments one could ever be called upon to fulfill. As Mr. Faulkner
said "They make you earn the prize all over again." But the warm and
comforting sympathy of the friendly audience lessened one's sense of
inadequacy and lonesomeness.

After the acceptance speeches the senior laureate, von Laue, spoke for
his colleagues of previous years. Then a large choir of university
students. with scholastic banners assembled on the balcony. The
chairman of the students' association greeted the guests, speaking
eloquently in perfect English. In reply, Professor Powell gave an excellent
impromptu response. These amenities fulfilled, the choir serenaded the
audience with some splendid choral singing. As the finale the choir
marched, singing down the marble stairs, passed by the tables and then
disappeared down the long lower corridors of the City Hall while their
voices grew fainter and fainter. The four-hour banquet ended about 11:30
p.m., after which a general reception was held upstairs in the beautiful
Gold Room with its magnificent expanses of gold mosaic. After midnight
there was dancing in the Blue Hall until about 2:00 a.m. Thus ended a
memorable day.


Monday, December 11
The next afternoon each recipient was obliged to give an address before
the appropriate awarding institution. The medical recipients gave
their "Nobel Lectures" before the faculty of the Caroline Institute.

Between 6 and 8:00 p.m. the Nobel family gave a delightful dinner for the
laureates and their wives in the main banquet salon of the Grand Hotel.
Our senior hosts were Emil and Gustaf Nobel. Each of the new laureates
was honored by having one of the Nobel ladies as a dinner companion. My
own escort was Fru Viktor (Gullevi) Nobel, who pleased her guests of
several nationalities by conversing animatedly with each in his native
tongue.




Reception at the Palace
At 8:30 p.m. the royal family held a reception at the palace for the
laureates and their wives. Customarily, the King and Queen give a formal
banquet, but this year the banquet was replaced by a less formal
reception because the court was officially in mourning.


The reception was very pleasant and interesting. We collected in a large
cheerful room with white painted walls. Here the respective ambassadors
took their particular nationals in tow. Thus divided into small groups we
passed into the next room, a large affair with paintings, dark tapestries
and huge chandeliers. A tall, distinguished-looking elderly man wearing
decorations and a long very thin sword, obviously a court officer or
marshal of the court, checked his list of guests with each ambassador.
The groups lined up irregularly according to an alphabetic arrangement:
Allemagne (Germany), America, Argentine, France, Great Britain, etc.

After the Kendalls went in, our names were called and Mrs. Hench and I
passed through a small anteroom to meet the royal family: the King, the
Queen, Princess Sibylla, Prince Bertil, Prince Wilhelm. Without further
introduction, King Gustaf Adolf greeted me as "Professor Hench …"
which took me back to the "professorial days" of my father. We had a
nice chat, discussing among other things the honorary degrees which my
alma mater, Lafayette College, had conferred on him and his wife when,
as Crown Prince and Princess, they had visited the United States in 1938.
As Mrs. Hench and I talked to the King and Queen (she was a British
Mountbatten and he speaks English perfectly), the Kendalls were
concluding their chat with the Princes.

After brief greetings with the rest of the royal family we passed on into a
very, long chamber, the Gallery of Carolus XI, sometimes used for large
royal banquets, where certain ladies and gentlemen of the King’s
household were mingling with their guests. Food and drinks of various
kinds were being passed about. Almost at once a very pleasant man
attached himself to us to make us feel welcome. He was Mr. Erik Sjöqvist,
the King's secretary with the title "cultural attaché."

For some reason, and despite the alphabet, the British had been received
last and the very last one to be received had been Bertrand Russell.
When he entered the reception hall he noticed Mrs. Hench and came over
to talk to us. He had been Mrs. Hench's dinner companion the day before,
and throughout the whole festival he and my wife got along splendidly. He
is a cheerful, amusing man, very alert despite his 79 years.

At the conclusion of the two-hour reception, the King and his family
passed among their guests making a circuit, bowing and bidding everyone
goodnight.



Nobel Soirée at the National Museum
The evening was not over yet. About 10:30 p.m. we arrived at the
National Museum (near the Grand Hôtel) for a soirée given by the Nobel
Foundation. Our whole family had been invited, and Mrs. Kahler, Mary and
Kahler were there. Hundreds of Stockholm's citizens were on hand, all
formally dressed. People were sitting on the stairs and the balconies to
greet the laureates and their wives, whose arrival was again announced
with a fanfare by the peripatetic trumpeters. Everyone arose in friendly
greeting as we climbed the long flight of stairs and joined the others. A
lovely musical program was in progress. A very good orchestra (La
Société d’Orchestre Académique de Stockholm) played various
numbers and the Academic Choir of Stockholm sang some beautiful
things which Kahler and I especially enjoyed. Later a soprano with a
delightful voice sang a group of lovely Swedish songs. At about 11:15
p.m. a buffet supper was served in one of the rooms.




Tuesday, December 12

The Ambassador's Luncheon Party
At noon Ambassador and Mrs. Butterworth gave a very pleasant small
luncheon party at their home for the Kendalls and the Henches. Thev had
sent us invitations to a reception they were to give for the Bunches on the
following Saturday, but we could not remain in Stockholm that long. A few
weeks before, when Dr. Bunche and a few other American laureates had
been invited to the Research Corporation dinner party for the Kendalls
and Henches in New York, Dr. Bunche unexpectedly had to remain in
Washington. Thus, unfortunately, Dr. Kendall and I have not yet met him.


Late in the afternoon Dr. Kendall and I went to a one-day-early Lucia
party given by Professor Liljestrand in his laboratory.



Dinner Party of Professor Svartz
That evening, Nanna Svartz, professor of medicine at the Caroline
Institute (and a member of the Nobel Subcommittee of two which had
reviewed and presented the work on cortisone before the committee and
faculty), gave a fine dinner party for the Kendalls, the Reichsteins, Mrs.
Kahler, and the whole Hench family. Professor Svartz' husband is the
pediatrician, Professor Nils Malmberg; their daughter, Gunvor, was very
kind to our children. Also present were the Lobbs and Rosenbergs;
Professor and Mrs. Domagk and their daughter; 3 or 4 other local
professors and their wives, and 3 young medical students, one of whom
had received his degree that very day.



Wednesday, December 13
Of other delightful official and private events I can only mention one in
closing - the Lucia festival, which provided a pleasant anti-climax to our
week in Stockholm. The legend of Lucia honors the spirit of Christian
charity and celebrates the beauty of light. It is widely celebrated in the
Scandinavian countries on December 13, one of the shortest and darkest
days of the year. The Lucia festivities are held not only as civic affairs but
also in most homes and offices.

The main feature this year in Stockholm was to be a civic event in the
City Hall, the "crowning" of "Lucia of Stockholm, Queen of Light." The King
is one of the sponsors of the event, which is underwritten annually by
one of the large Stockholm corporations; in recent years it has been
managed by the Stockholm's Tidningen, one of the leading newspapers.
Because the money raised this year was to be used for rheumatic
children, the committee had asked me to "crown" Lucia at the evening
ceremony, the invitation having been cabled to me in November through
Docent Gunnar Edström, of the University of Lund, whom I had met on
several occasions and who had entertained Mrs. Hench and me at his
home in 1948.



The Lucia Festival, City Hall
In the evening about 2,000 people including the diplomatic corps and their
distinguished guests attended the civic Lucia festival. It was really a fine,
dignified ceremony, semi-religious and partly social. First, everyone
gathered in the Blue Hall. Completing a street parade through city the
Lucia of Stockholm and her attendants reached the City Hall. The young
Lucia (Miss Elisabeth Meyerhöffer) is an authentic Swedish beauty, with
blond hair and perfect features. She also has poise, charm and
personality. As she and her attendants slowly entered the Great Blue Hall
they were followed by a choir of boys, singing. My hosts and I waited to
meet Lucia on the first landing of the marble stairs. As she drew near I
noticed a man in a dark suit walking unobtrusively just a few feet behind
her. He was carrying a wet towel just in case Lucia's hair caught fire from
her crown of lighted (real) candles. Such an accident occasionally occurs.
To forestall it, the top of the girl's head usually is covered with a thin
protection of some sort, and some people are resorting to crowns of
electric lights for the chosen daughter of the family to wear for the early
morning family celebrations.

After the lovely Lucia of Stockholm joined us on the stair landing with her
attendants arranged on the lower steps, I was introduced to give my little
talk. But during the day I had developed a very hoarse sore throat. So
with the approval of my hosts, Kahler gave the speech for me and did
very well indeed. Perhaps some of you heard him, for the affair was
broadcast over Swedish radio stations and re-broadcast to the United
States for transcription in connection with certain Swedish-American Lucia
celebrations.

After Kahler's talk I hung a jewelled pendant around Lucia's neck. Then a
boy soprano sang a lovely air in Latin. Soon, about 600 people adjourned
upstairs to the banquet in the Gold Hall. Dancing began in the Great Blue
Hall. After the banquet a reception in the Gold Hall and the dancing
downstairs continued long after midnight.

Our family had been formally invited to visit the Lucia fest of the Medical
Student's Union. About 2:00 a.m. we went to the Student's party with Dr.
Edström's daughter, Fru Marianne Westrup, and Mr. Oscar Rosander, the
Swedish cousin of one of my boyhood friends, where we received a
friendly welcome.



Vale
In retrospect, that which made the greatest, most lasting impression upon
us all was the amazing spirit of friendship and the truly gracious
hospitality which were shown to those who participated in this Nobel
Jubilee, not only by our hosts of the Nobel Foundation and of the prize-
awarding institutions, and by the citizens of Stockholm, but by the royal
family, the government and diplomatic corps and indeed by the whole
Swedish and Scandinavian people. My family and I have also sincerely
appreciated the friendly interest which so many of our home folk have
expressed to us these past months. For this we shall always owe the
people of Sweden and our home folk our unmeasured thanks.



<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/eyewitness/hench/images/fig4.jpg>
Philip Hench (right) receiving his prize from King Gustaf Adolf VI of
Sweden while Prince Wilhelm looks on.

[Josefine]

These are videos you can watch

At this page you can see how things look like in

Stockholm city hall
http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/vr-cityhall/index.html

&

and here is Stockholm Concert Hall

http://www.nobel.se/nobel/events/vr-...all/index.html