Ostrom receives Nobel Prize

STOCKHOLM — IU professor Elinor Ostrom was one of a record five women awarded Nobel Prizes on Thursday, becoming the first woman to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. A total of 13 awards were given in the Swedish capital.

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf handed out the prestigious $1.4 million awards in chemistry, physics, medicine, literature and economics during a glitzy ceremony at Stockholm concert hall. Hour earlier, President Barack Obama received the peace prize in Oslo.

In total, only 40 women have won the prestigious prizes, including Marie Curie who took the 1903 physics prize and the 1911 chemistry prize.

Ostrom, 76, made history by being the first woman to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, sharing it with fellow American Oliver Williamson for their work in economic governance. That prize is not one of the original Nobels, but was created in 1968 in Nobel’s memory by the Swedish central bank.

The prizes also include a a diploma and a gold medal. They are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. The Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite died in San Remo, a link that the Italian city marks by sending flowers to decorate the ceremony in Stockholm.