Final answer:
The Nobel Prizes were established by Alfred Nobel in 1895 to honor significant contributions across various fields including Physics and Chemistry. Notable laureates include Marie Curie, the only individual to win in both fields, and Wilhelm Röntgen, the first Physics Prize winner for discovering X-rays. The prizes are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, among other institutions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Nobel Prizes were founded by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor known for creating dynamite. He established the awards in his will in 1895, with the aim of honoring contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. The prizes, particularly the ones for scientific disciplines, often recognize foundational work that enables further discovery. For instance, Wilhelm Röntgen was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for his discovery of X-rays, a breakthrough that opened new avenues in both medicine and physics.
The Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to notable individuals such as Enrico Fermi for his work on artificial radioactivity produced by neutrons and Marie Curie for her research on radioactivity, who also won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Curie's achievements are particularly noteworthy as she is the only person to win Nobel prizes in both of these scientific areas.
Historical Nobel Prize winners in Physics include figures like Lord Ernest Rutherford, known as the "father of nuclear physics," who was actually awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances.