Darwin Medal

The Darwin Medal is one of the medals awarded by the Royal Society for "distinction in evolution, biological diversity and developmental, population and organismal biology".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1885, the International Darwin Memorial Fund was transferred to the Royal Society. The fund was devoted for promotion of biological research, and was used to establish the Darwin Medal.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> The medal was first awarded to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1890 for "his independent origination of the theory of the origin of species by natural selection."<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The medal commemorates the work of English biologist Charles Darwin (1809–1882).<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref> Darwin, most famous for his 1859 book On the Origin of Species,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was a fellow of the Royal Society, and had received the Royal Medal in 1853 and the Copley Medal in 1864.<ref name=":2" />

The diameter of the Darwin Medal is Template:Frac inch (5.7 cm). It is made of silver. The obverse has Darwin's portrait, while the reverse has a wreath of plants with Darwin's name in Latin, "Carolus Darwin". It is surrounded by the years of his birth and death in Roman numerals (MDCCCIX and MDCCCLXXXII). The general design of the medal was by John Evans, the president of the Royal Numismatic Society.<ref name=":4" />

Since its creation the Darwin Medal has been awarded over 60 times. Among the recipients are Francis Darwin, Charles Darwin's son, and two married couples: Jack and Yolande Heslop-Harrison in 1982 and Peter and Rosemary Grant in 2002. Initially accompanied by a grant of £100,<ref name=":2" /> the medal is currently awarded with a grant of £2,000.<ref name=":0" /> All citizens who have been residents of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth of Nations, or the Republic of Ireland for more than three years are eligible for the medal. The medal was awarded biennially from 1890 until 2018; since then it is awarded annually.<ref name=":0" />

List of recipients

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Year	Portrait	Name	Citation	Template:Abbr
1890	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Alfred Russel Wallace	Template:Sortname	"For his independent origination of the theory of the origin of species by natural selection."	<ref name=":3" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1892	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Joseph Dalton Hooker	Template:Sortname	"On account of his important contributions to the progress of systematic botany, as evidenced by the 'Genera Plantarum' and the 'Flora Indica'; but more especially on account of his intimate association with Mr. Darwin in the studies preliminary to the 'Origin of Species'."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1894	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Thomas Henry Huxley	Template:Sortname	"For his researches in comparative anatomy, and especially for his intimate association with Mr. Darwin in relation to the 'Origin of Species'."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1896	Error creating thumbnail:	Template:Sortname	"For his researches on the life history and societies of the Termitidae, and on the developmental relationship between Leptocephalus and the common eel and other muraenidae."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>
1898	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Karl Pearson	Template:Sortname	"For his work on the quantitative treatment of biological problems."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1900	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Ernst Haeckel	Template:Sortname	"For his long-continued and highly important work in zoology all of which has been inspired by the spirit of Darwinism."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1902	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Francis Galton	Template:Sortname	"For his numerous contributions to the exact study of heredity & variation contained in 'Hereditary Genius', 'Natural Inheritance', and other writings."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1904	Black-and-white photographic portrait of William Bateson	Template:Sortname	"For his important contribution to the theory of organic evolution by his researches on variation and heredity."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1906	Error creating thumbnail:	Template:Sortname	"On the ground of the significance and extent of his experimental investigations in heredity & Variation."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1908	Black-and-white photographic portrait of August Weismann	Template:Sortname	"On the ground of his eminent services in support of the doctrine of evolution by means of natural selection."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1910	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Roland Trimen	Template:Sortname	"On the ground of his South African bionomic researches, in large part undertaken as the outcome of correspondence with Charles Darwin."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1912	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Francis Darwin	Template:Sortname	"On the ground of his work in conjunction with Charles Darwin, and his researches in vegetable physiology."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1914	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Edward Bagnall Poulton	Template:Sortname	"On the ground of his researches in heredity."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1916	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Yves Delage	Template:Sortname	"On the ground of researches in zoology and biology."	<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1918	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Henry Fairfield Osborn	Template:Sortname	"For his valuable researches on vertebrate morphology and palaeontology."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1920	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Rowland H. Biffen	Template:Sortname	"On the ground of his work on scientific principles applied to the breeding of plants."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1922	—	Template:Sortname	"For his researches in the science of genetics."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1924	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Thomas Hunt Morgan	Template:Sortname	"For his valuable work in zoology and more especially his researches on heredity and cytology."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1926	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Dukinfield Henry Scott	Template:Sortname	"For his contributions to palaeophytology, particularly in relation to the period of coal."	<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1928	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Leonard Cockayne	Template:Sortname	"For the eminence of his contributions to ecological botany."	<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1930	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Johannes Schmidt	Template:Sortname	"For his work on extended oceanographical expeditions; and for his genetic studies in animals and plants."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1932	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Carl Erich Correns	Template:Sortname	"As one of the three independent discoverers of Mendels publications; and for his distinguished researches in genetics."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1934	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Albert Seward	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his work as a palaeobotanist."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1936	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his long continued work for the advancement of marine biology, not only by his own researches but by the great influence he has exerted on very numerous investigations at Plymouth."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1938	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Frederick Orpen Bower	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his work of acknowledged distinction in the field in which Darwin himself laboured."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1940	Error creating thumbnail:	Template:Sortname	"For his contributions to the solution of problems bearing on the inter-relationships of the main groups of the Mammalia and on the phylogenetic history of the primates, a subject with which Charles Darwin himself was much concerned."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1942	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his researches on primitive fishes and amphibians which have much advanced the knowledge of the evolution of these groups of animals."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1944	Black-and-white photographic portrait of John Stanley Gardiner	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his work on coral reefs and on the organisms associated with such habitats."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1946	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of biology."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1948	Error creating thumbnail:	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the theory of natural selection, the concept of its gene complex and the evolution of dominance."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1950	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Felix Eugen Fritsch	Template:Sortname	"For his distinguished contributions to the study of algology."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1952	Black-and-white photographic portrait of J. B. S. Haldane	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his initiation of the modern phase of the study of the evolution of living populations."	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1954	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the genetical theory of evolution by natural selection, particularly in natural populations."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1956	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Julian Sorell Huxley	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the study and theory of evolution."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1958	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to evolutionary biology."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1960	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished and strikingly original botanical work in tropical forests."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1962	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to general evolutionary theory, based on a profound study of palaeontology, particularly of vertebrates."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1964	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to knowledge of cytology and genetics."	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1966	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished and extensive contributions in the field of invertebrate zoology and to our understanding of general biological phenomena."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1968	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his many distinguished contributions to evolutionary biology, particularly of the mollusca."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1970	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of the basic concepts he has contributed to the study of animal ecology which, with his foundation of the Bureau of Animal Population, have had international impact."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1972	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished and numerous contributions to ornithology and to our understanding of evolutionary mechanisms."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1974	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his outstanding work on natural populations of butterflies, describing and explaining the operation of natural selection and demonstrating the genetic basis upon which selection operates."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1976	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of her discovery of and continuing work on chemical mutagenesis."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1978	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Guido Pontecorvo	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his discovery of somatic recombination in fungi which led to the elucidation of an important type of genetic variation."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1980	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his outstanding contributions to genetics and evolutionary theory."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1982	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of their major contributions to plant physiology including fundamental studies on insectivorous plants, much of this research carried out jointly."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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1984	Photographic portrait of Ernst Mayr	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to evolutionary biology."	<ref>Template:Cite newsletter</ref>
1986	Photographic portrait of John Maynard Smith	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his outstanding success in combining mathematics with biology to enhance our understanding of evolution, in particular the evolution of sex."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1988	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished work on evolutionary theory. His contributions include the theory of kin selection to account for altruistic behaviour and the theoretical demonstration of a link between disease resistance and the evolution of sex."	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1990	Photographic portrait of John Harper	Template:Sortname	"For his research on the population biology and evolution of plants which has greatly improved understanding of the adaptation of plants to their environment."	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1992	—	Template:Sortname	"Distinguished for his work on molecular evolution, in particular on the role of stochastic events in determining the rate of evolution."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1994	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his analysis of pattern formation during insect segmentation, and of his contribution to understanding how genetic processes specify spatial information."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1996	Photographic portrait of John Sulston	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his leadership in the study of genome analysis with the potential to have a profound impact on the whole of biology."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1998	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of their work on cereal genome organisation and evolution which has revolutionised cereal genetics by showing that the genetics of all the different cereals can be considered in a common framework."	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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2000	—	Template:Sortname	"In recognition of his distinguished work on selection in age-structured populations, extending the theory to the evolution of ageing, and testing the theories of mutation accumulation and pleiotropy, developing models for the evolution of genetic systems, including sex and recombination, inbreeding and outbreeding, separate sexes and sex chromosomes, segregation distortion and repetitive DNA."	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2002	Photographic portrait of Peter and Rosemary Grant	Template:Sortname	"for their fundamental work on the ecology, breeding and evolution of Darwin's finches on the Galapagos islands. This work has become the classic example of Darwinian evolution in the wild."	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2004	Photographic portrait of Enrico Coen	Template:Sortname	"for their ground-breaking discoveries about the control of flower development. They have combined molecular and genetic approaches to answer some of Darwins key questions about the natural variation of floral form and the evolution of floral development."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
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2006	—	Template:Sortname	"for his major and extensive contributions to evolutionary biology, by the application of sophisticated mathematical analysis but focussed on developing biological understanding rather than mathematical niceties."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2008	—	Template:Sortname	"for his lifetime contribution to the foundations and development of behavioural ecology, in particular for understanding evolutionary adaptations and their consequences for natural populations."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010	—	Template:Sortname	"for his original and influential contributions to our understanding of the genetic basis of evolution."	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2012	—	Template:Sortname	"for his outstanding work on the diversity of animal societies and demonstration of their effects on the evolution of reproductive strategies, the operation of selection and the dynamics of populations."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2014		Template:Sortname	"for his novel and convincing work on prebiotic chemistry, in particular his solution to the central problem of nucleoside synthesis."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	Photographic portrait of Caroline Dean	Template:Sortname	"for her work addressing fundamental questions in the perception of temperature cues and how modifications in epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in adaptation."	<ref name=":1" />
2018	—	Template:Sortname	"for his contribution to our understanding of the genetics of quantitative traits and response to selection"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2019	—	Template:Sortname	"for his work with many organisms and genes elucidating key aspects of how changes in the genome influence evolution of animal development"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	—	Template:Sortname	"for outstanding contributions to genetics and epigenetics, including defining the role of RNA interference in inherited gene silencing and in genomic stability in the germ line."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2021	—	Template:Sortname	"for major and fundamental contributions to the understanding of the how species originate, adaptive radiations develop, and geographical patterns of biodiversity emerge and are maintained."	<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	—	Template:Sortname	"for his fundamental, paradigm-changing contributions to the understanding of mitochondrial endosymbiosis and the origins of eukaryotes in a new two-domain tree of life."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	—	Template:Sortname	"for his pioneering contributions to somatic evolution, including some of the most creative and influential studies of evolution in cancer and normal tissues."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2024	—	Template:Sortname	"for his work addressing the origins and evolution of HIV and the malaria parasite Plasmodium."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025	—	Template:Sortname	"for the development of the state-of-the-art methodologies for tracking the epidemiology and evolution of viruses, and their application to the west African Ebola outbreak, and the COVID-19 pandemic."	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Awards, lectures and medals of the Royal Society

External links

• Template:Commons inline