The Asian continent has influenced world history in many ways. Recently there have been many Asians who have been awarded the Nobel Prize for their work. The first Asian to receive the award was the Indian, Rabindranath Tagore, who was awarded the Prize for Literature in 1913. In 2003 Iranian Shirin Ebadi became the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which was also awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma in 1991 for her non-violent campaign for democracy.
No less than 13 Japanese scientists have been given Nobel prizes, along with several Middle Eastern politicians. And religious figures have also been recognised, with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.