| Leopoldina Cothenius Medal | |
|---|---|
 The Cothenius medal | |
| Awarded for | Outstanding research in any branch of science |
| Sponsored by | German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina |
| Country | Germany |
| First awarded | 1792 |
| Website | Cothenius Medal |
Cothenius Medal is a medal awarded by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (known as the Leopoldina) for outstanding scientific achievement during the life of the awardee.[1] The medal was created to honour Christian Andreas Cothenius, who was the personal physician to Frederick the Great.[2] In 1743, Cothenius became a fellow of the Leopoldina, later president of the learned society that had been created by Emperor Leopold I.[2] When Cothenius died, he left a sum of money in his will to the society with the condition that the interest on the money should be used to award a gold medal, every two years by answering a question in medicine whereby some new truth could be established.[2] Up until 1864, the award came with a prize but was then converted into an award for the promotion of research over the whole period of a person's life.[3] Each medal bears the Latin inscription "Praemium virtutis salutem mortalium provehentibus sancitum" (Created in recognition of the ability of those who promote the good of mortals).[1]
- ^ a b "Cothenius Medal". German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ a b c Gaillard, Edwin Samuel, ed. (5 January 1878). "Foreign Honors to British Surgeons". The American Medical Bi-Weekly. VIII (1). Louisville, Kentucky: 45.
- ^ Mattes, Johannes (2022). "Köpfe, Staat und Forschungspraxis. Die kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien in den ersten vier Jahrzehnten ihres Bestehens". In Feichtinger, Johannes; Mazohl, Brigitte (eds.). Die Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften 1847–2022. Eine neue Akademiegeschichte. Historische Zeitschrift (in German). Vol. 1. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences. pp. 137–194. ISSN 0018-2613.