Darwin–Wallace Medal

The Darwin–Wallace Medal

The Darwin–Wallace Medal is awarded by the Linnean Society of London for "major advances in evolutionary biology".[1][2]

The medals have been awarded every 50 years, beginning in 1908. That year marked 50 years after the joint presentation of papers by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. These were On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and On the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection. The papers were both about natural selection as the main cause of evolution. The papers were presented to the Linnean Society of London on 1 July 1858.

Wallace was one of the first to get of the medal. In his case it was made of gold, rather than the silver versions given to the six other medallists.[3] However, in 2008 the Linnean Society announced that due to the continuing importance of evolutionary research, the medal will be awarded on an annual basis beginning in 2010.

Awardees

1908

The first award was of a gold medal to Alfred Russel Wallace,[4] and silver medals to six other distinguished scientists:

1958

20 silver medals were awarded:

2008

13 silver medals were awarded, including 2 posthumously:

From 2010 [1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Medals and Prizes". The Linnean Society of London. Archived from the original on 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  2. Gage A.T. and Stearn W.T. 1988. A Bicentenary History of the Linnean Society of London. Linnean Society of London, pp. 165-174.
  3. Gage A.T. and Stearn W.T. 1988 A bicentenary history of the Linnean Society of London, Linnean Society of London, p. 101.
  4. "Acceptance speech on receiving the Darwin–Wallace Medal". Wku.edu. 1908-07-01. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  5. Communications Office (2008-06-11). "Press Releases". The University of Nottingham Public Affairs Office. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  6. "University of Rochester biologist wins rare Darwin-Wallace Medal: University of Rochester News". Rochester.edu. Retrieved 2010-03-30.