Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel (Sweden) for use in quarrying and engineering. Existing explosives such as guncotton and saltpetre were extremely volatile, so Nobel began to investigate nitroglycerine, which had been discovered by Ascanio Sobrero (Italy) in 1846.Liquid nitroglycerine was a volatile as earlier explosives, but in 1866 Nobel discovered that if it was mixed with an absorbent sand called kieselguhr, it could be handled safely and detonated with a blasting cap. In 1867 he filed a patent for: "Improvements in explosive compounds and in means of igniting same", and call his invention Nobel's Safety Powder, before coming up with the trademark Dynamite from the Greek dynamis, meaning power. Nobel, who went on to invent gelignite in 1875, hoped that the explosive power of his invention would be a deterrent to war, but it was not to be.
In 1888 Nobel read his own obituary in a newspaper, which had confused him with his recently deceased brother Ludwig. The obituary referred to him as "the dynamite king" and as "a merchant of death". Stung by the lack of reference to his phlianthropic activities, he decided to establish the foundation that has awarded the Nobel prizes annually since 1901.
Source - The Book Of Inventions by Ian Harrison.
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