The first Nobel Prizes of 1901 were, with rare exception, solo affairs. A century later the science medals are crowded with collaborators, and a sixth category has joined the original five. This page reads the frozen record two ways — prizes awarded and laureates honoured — across thirteen decades and six categories, one dot at a time.
Each tile is one category in one decade: the large figure counts laureates — one dot each — and the small figure counts prizes. Scan down a column to watch a category fill up; scan across to see the year’s spread. Economics3 arrives only in the 1960s, the 1900s open with the first awards of 19011, and the hatched 2020s row is a work in progress2.
Hover or focus a tile for detail.
* Peak tile: Physics in the 2000s — 28 laureates on 10 prizes. † The 1900s span 1901–1909 (nine award years); the 2020s row covers 2020–2025 only. ° Economic Sciences established 1968, first awarded 1969 — hence a single prize in its first decade.
Divide laureates by prizes and a quiet revolution appears. In the 1900s the typical prize went to 1.3 people; by the 2000s it went to 2.1. The sciences climb steadily toward the three-laureate ceiling4, Economics starts mid-journey (its first prize, in 1969, was already shared), and Literature — the last refuge of the solitary genius — never strays from one.
Laureates per prize, by award decade. Ceiling of 3.0 = a prize shared by three laureates. Open points mark the partial 2020s.
The whole frozen set at full resolution: 1,026 squares, grouped by decade and coloured by category. The 1940s thin out; the 1970s onward run long and blue-green; the hatched final row is only six award years deep.