Nobel monument near museum of Natural History

Continuing a 113-year-old tradition, the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm started awarding the best and brightest minds on October 2014. Among the record number of candidates (278 candidates) for Nobel Peace Prize this year there were Russian opposition newspaper 'Novaya Gazeta', Tunisia's democratic leadership, Pakistan schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai and Pope Francis.  The 17- year old Malala Yousafzai got the prize and became the youngest  Nobel laureate in the history. 
The inventor  of dynamite Alfred Nobel was born on 21 October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. His fortune was used posthumously to institute the Nobel Prizes. 
 No other country has had as many Nobel Prize recipients as the United States since the awards were first presented in 1901. Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to win a Peace Nobel Prize - he negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War.  Park near  the American Museum of Natural History is named for Theodore Roosevelt.  So it was completely reasonable to  erect the Nobel Monument in this park. It was a joint project initiated and overseen by the Consulate General of Sweden and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

On October 14, 2003, the monument was presented as a gift to the people of the City of New York and unveiled by New York's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister at the time, Margareta Winberg.
 Bloomberg said on the unveiling ceremony.: "New York City is a fitting home for the Nobel Monument which recognizes the efforts Americans have made towards creating a more peaceful, safe, and healthy world... And I am especially proud to say that of the 271 Americans that have received the Nobel Prize, 24 have been graduates of New York City's public schools."  
The monument, designed by  Swedish sculptor Sivert Lindblom, presents the lengthy list of American Laureates and also leaves the  space for future honourees to be engraved. It’s the only such monument honouring American Nobel Laureates in US. 

Museum of Natural History

 This year one more New Yorker is added to the list. John O'Keefe  was awarded one half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014. Prize motivation is  "for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain".
 Born in New York City to Irish immigrant parents, O'Keefe attended Regis High School (Manhattan) and received a BA degree from the City College of New York. At the  time of award John was affiliated with  University College in London, Great Britain.  Among the 57 US scientists who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine between 1951 and 1975, 32 were US citizens. For 1976-200 years  the ratio is 56-40.
The Nobel prize has been awarded 853 times, of which 23 awards were to organizations. 353 laureates  were Americans. New York can be proud: the first American to win a Nobel Prize  was New Yorker!  More than 70 Nobel Laureates are New Yorkers. Bronx High School of Science has produced at least six,   Stuyvesant High School, has produced four. CUNY( City University of New York)  has 12 graduates who have won the Nobel.
 It is the only monument in New York City parks which features the names of living persons. Every year, the names of the American Nobel Laureates from the previous year are inscribed onto the monument and unveiled at an annual ceremony.