View source for List of black Nobel laureates

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The [[Nobel Prize]] is an annual, international prize first awarded in 1901 for achievements in [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]], [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]], [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology or Medicine]], [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature]], and [[Nobel Peace Prize|Peace]], with an associated prize in [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Economics]] awarded since 1969.<ref name=Britannica1>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9056008 "Nobel Prize]" (2007), in ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', accessed 14 November 2007, from ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online'': {{quote|An additional award, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was established in 1968 by the Bank of Sweden and was first awarded in 1969}}</ref> As of November 2022, Nobel Prizes had been awarded to 954 individuals,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/all/ |title=All Nobel Laureates |publisher=Nobel Foundation |access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref> of whom 17 were black recipients (1.7% of the 954 individual recipients).

[[Black people]] have received awards in three of the six award categories: twelve in Peace (70.6% of the black recipients), four in Literature (23.5%), and one in Economics (5.9%). The first black recipient, [[Ralph Bunche]], was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. [[W. Arthur Lewis]] became the first black recipient of a Nobel Prize in one of the sciences when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1979. The most recent black laureate, [[Abdulrazak Gurnah]], was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021.

Among the black Nobel laureates, three served as [[head of state|heads of state]] or [[head of government|government]] of their respective countries upon receiving the Nobel Prize, while one was awarded the prize before taking office. Those include [[Barack Obama]] of the United States and [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]] of Liberia, who were presidents, along with [[Abiy Ahmed]] of Ethiopia, who was prime minister; all of them were awarded the Peace Prize. In addition, [[Nelson Mandela]] of South Africa became a Nobel Peace laureate before being elected president.

==Literature==
Four black people have been awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! class="unportable" style="width:75px;"| Image !! Laureate !! Country !! Comment
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1986
| [[File:Wole Soyinka 2015 (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Wole|Soyinka}}
| {{flag|Nigeria}}
| First black man to win the Nobel Prize for Literature<ref>{{cite web | title = Wole Soyinka Biography| publisher = [[Nobelprize.org]] | url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1986/soyinka-bio.html}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1992
| [[File:Derek Walcott (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Derek|Walcott}}
| {{flag|Saint Lucia|1979}}
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1993
| [[File:Toni Morrison (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Toni|Morrison}}
| {{flag|United States}}
| First black woman to win a Nobel Prize<ref>{{cite news | title = Toni Morrison Is '93 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature | work = New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/08/books/93nobel.html | first=William | last=Grimes | date=1983-10-08 | access-date=2010-05-08}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2021
|  [[File:Gurnah, Abdulrazak k-litcologne (3x4 cropped b).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Abdulrazak|Gurnah}}
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| Gurnah moved to the [[United Kingdom]] in the 1960s as a refugee following the [[Zanzibar Revolution]]<ref name="bbc20211007">{{Cite news|date=7 October 2021|title=Nobel Literature Prize 2021: Abdulrazak Gurnah named winner|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58828947|access-date=9 October 2021|archive-date=7 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007164325/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58828947|url-status=live}}</ref>
|}

==Peace==
12 black people have been awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! class="unportable" style="width:75px;"| Image !! Laureate !! Country !! Comment
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1950
| [[File:Ralph Bunche - 1963 March on Washington.jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Ralph|Bunche}}
| {{flag|United States|1912}}
| First black person to win a Nobel Prize<ref>[https://archive.today/20120909064012/http://www.pbs.org/ralphbunche/ Ralph Bunche], PBS.</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1960
| [[File:Albert Lutuli nobel.jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Albert John|Luthuli}}
| {{flag|South Africa|1994}}
| First black African to win a Nobel Prize
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1964
| [[File:Martin Luther King, Jr. (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Martin Luther|King Jr.}}
| {{flag|United States}}
|Youngest African American to win a Nobel Prize, at age 35
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1984
| [[File:Desmond Tutu (47327456801) (cropped and adjusted).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Desmond|Tutu}}
| {{flag|South Africa|1994}}
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1993
| [[File:Nelson Mandela 1994.jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Nelson|Mandela}}
| {{flag|South Africa|1994}}

|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2001
| [[File:Kofi Annan.jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Kofi|Annan}}
| {{flag|Ghana}}
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2004
| [[File:Wangari Matthai 2001 (cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Wangari|Maathai}}
| {{flag|Kenya}}
| First environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2009
|[[File:Obama 2008 portrait crop (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
|{{sortname|Barack|Obama}}
| {{flag|United States}}
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| [[File:President Sirleaf on Capitol Hill (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Ellen|Johnson Sirleaf}}
| {{flag|Liberia}}
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| [[File:2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee (cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|Leymah|Gbowee}}
| {{flag|Liberia}}
|

|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2018
| [[File:Denis Mukwege par Claude Truong-Ngoc novembre 2014 (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| [[Denis Mukwege]]
| {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
|

|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2019
| [[File:Abiy Ahmed during state visit of Reuven Rivlin to Ethiopia, May 2018.jpg|center|75px]]
| [[Abiy Ahmed]]
| {{flag|Ethiopia}}
|
|}

==Economics==
One black person has been awarded the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! class="unportable" style="width:75px;"| Image !! Laureate !! Country !! Comment
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1979
|| [[File:Arthur Lewis Dollar (3x4 cropped).jpg|center|75px]]
| {{sortname|W. Arthur|Lewis}}
| {{flag|Saint Lucia|1979}}
| First and (so far) only black person to win a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; first West Indian to win a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences<ref>{{cite news | title = Unsung Heroes | publisher = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | url = http://www.time.com/time/2007/blackhistmth/bios/09.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070210114456/http://www.time.com/time/2007/blackhistmth/bios/09.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = February 10, 2007 | date=2007-12-01 | access-date=2010-05-08}}</ref>
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of Nobel laureates]]
* [[List of African Nobel laureates]]
* [[List of Asian Nobel laureates]]
* [[List of Latino and Hispanic Nobel laureates]]
* [[List of Christian Nobel laureates]]
* [[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.newyorktimesbestsellerlist.org/reviews/nelson-mandela Nelson Mandela Interview]

{{Nobel Prizes}}

[[Category:Lists of black people|Nobel Laureates]]
[[Category:Lists of Nobel laureates by ethnicity|Black]]