6 Youngest Nobel Prize Winners

Have you ever wondered who were the youngest Nobel Prize winners? We normally assume a winner of one of the prestigious Nobel Prizes to be mature in their years, having acquired the necessary wisdom through experience – which usually equates to time. However, our list of the 6 Youngest Nobel Prize Winners demonstrates that there are exceptions to this commonly held belief, as you will see. Interestingly, the average age of all the Nobel Prize Winners is 59. This figure takes into account all prize categories, and looks at data since the prizes began in 1901. The modal age bracket for winners is the relatively veteran 60-64 years. However, as with most things there are exceptions, and an examination of winners across all the Nobel Prize Categories reveals some winners are awarded their prize well before retirement age.

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The Nobel Prize was created by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and engineer, born in 1833. As of 1901, prizes were awarded in six categories: physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace and economy. It is interesting to examine each prize category separately: there are noticeable trends when we study the different prize categories. At 67, the winners of the Nobel Prize for Economy have a higher average age than any of the other five categories. At the other end of the spectrum, the prize category with the winner with the youngest average age is the physics prize – winners are only 55 on average.

Interestingly, not everyone who wins will accept their prize – have a look at our articles on 6 Nobel Prize Winners Who Declined the Prize to find out why. The young success stories in this feature all accepted their award so without further ado, we bring you the 6 Youngest Nobel Prize Winners!