Darwin Medal

Not to be confused with Darwin Prize, Darwin Awards, or Darwin–Wallace Medal.

Darwin Medal
Portrait of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Awarded for"distinction in evolution, biological diversity and developmental, population and organismal biology"[1]
Presented byRoyal Society
First awarded1890
Websitehttps://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/darwin-medal/ Edit this on Wikidata

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".[1]

In 1885, 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.[2] 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."[3][4] The medal commemorates the work of English biologist Charles Darwin (1809–1882).[5] Darwin, most famous for his 1859 book On the Origin of Species,[6] was a fellow of the Royal Society, and had received the Royal Medal in 1853 and the Copley Medal in 1864.[2]

The diameter of the Darwin Medal is 2+1⁄4 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.[5]

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,[2] the medal is currently awarded with a grant of £2,000.[1] 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.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d "Darwin Medal". Royal Society. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Lange, Erwin F.; Buyers, Ray F. (1955). "Medals of the Royal Society of London". The Scientific Monthly. 81 (2). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 87–90. Bibcode:1955SciMo..81...85L. ISSN 0096-3771. JSTOR 21857. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  3. ^ Bulmer, Michael (2005). "The Theory of Natural Selection of Alfred Russel Wallace FRS" (PDF). Notes and Records. 59 (2). Royal Society: 125–136. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2004.0081. ISSN 0035-9149. PMID 16116703. S2CID 42066575. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  4. ^ James, T. E. (28 May 1938). "A Discontinued Darwin Medal" (PDF). Nature. 141 (3578): 960. Bibcode:1938Natur.141..960J. doi:10.1038/141960a0. S2CID 7343444. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b "The Darwin Medal". The Times. 4 December 1890. p. 8. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022 – via Gale.
  6. ^ Matthen, Mohan; Stephens, Christopher, eds. (2007). Philosophy of Biology (PDF). North-Holland. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-444-51543-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2022.