# Royal Medal

The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society. Two are given for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge," and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences", all of which are done within the Commonwealth of Nations.

## Background

The award was created by George IV and awarded first during 1826. Initially there were two medals awarded, both for the most important discovery within the year previous, a time period which was lengthened to five years and then shortened to three. The format was endorsed by William IV and Victoria, who had the conditions changed during 1837 so that mathematics was a subject for which a Royal Medal could be awarded, albeit only every third year. The conditions were changed again during 1850 so that:
   ... the Royal Medals in each year should be awarded for the two most important contributions to the advancement of Natural Knowledge, published originally in Her Majesty's dominions within a period of not more than ten years and not less than one year of the date of the award, subject, of course, to Her Majesty's approval. ... in the award of the Royal Medals, one should be given in each of the two great divisions of Natural Knowledge.
During 1965, the system was changed to its current format, in which three medals are awarded annually by the monarch on the recommendation of the Royal Society Council. Because of its dual nature (for both physical and biological science) the award winners are chosen by both the A- and B-side Award Committees. Since its establishment during 1826 the medal has been awarded 405 times.

## Recent winners

* Professor Ann Dowling: Cambridge University, 2019.
* Professor Lewis Wolpert: University College London, UK, 2018.
* Professor Tony Hunter: Salk Institute, US, 2014.

## Full list of recipients

| Year | Name | Field | Rationale | Ref. |
| 1826 | James Ivory | Mathematics | "For his Paper on Astronomical Refractions, published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1823; and his other valuable Papers on Mathematical Subjects." | |
| 1826 | John Dalton | Physics | "For his development of the Atomic Theory and his other important labours and discoveries in Physical Science." | |
| 1827 | Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve | Astronomy | "For his Work, entitled, Catalogus Novus Stellarum Duplicium." | |
| 1827 | Humphry Davy | Physics | "For his Bakerian Lecture, On the Relations of Electrical Changes, considered as the last link, in the order of time, of the splendid chain of Discoveries in Chemical Electricity, which has been continued for so many years of his valuable life." | |
| 1828 | Johann Franz Encke | Astronomy | "For his Accurate Determination of the Orbit of a Comet of short period, as confirmed by observation." | |
| 1828 | William Hyde Wollaston | Chemistry | "For his communication, entitled, On a method of rendering Platina malleable, being the conclusion of a series of researches on the properties of the Metallic Bodies contained in the Ores of Platina." | |
| 1829 | Charles Bell | Anatomy | "For his Discoveries relating to the Nervous System." | |
| 1829 | Eilhard Mitscherlich | Chemistry | "For his Discoveries relating to the Laws of Crystallization, and the Properties of Crystals." | |
| 1830 | Antoine Jerome Balard | Chemistry | "For his Discovery of Brome." | |
| 1830 | David Brewster | Physics | "For his Communications to the Royal Society on the Polarization and other Properties of Light." | |
| 1831 | No award | No award | No award | No award |
| 1832 | No award | No award | No award | No award |
| 1833 | Augustin Pyramus de Candolle | Botany | "For his Researches and Investigations in Vegetable Physiology, as detailed in his Work, entitled, Physiologie Vegetale." | |
| 1833 | John Herschel | Astronomy | "For his Paper "on the Investigation of the Orbits of Revolving Double Stars," inserted in the Fifth Volume of the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society." | |
| 1834 | Charles Lyell | Geology | "For his Work, entitled, Principles of Geology." | |
| 1834 | John William Lubbock | Physics | "For his Papers on the Tides published in the Philosophical Transactions." | |
| 1835 | Michael Faraday | Chemistry | "For his investigations and discoveries contained in the series of experimental researches in electricity published in the Philosophical Transactions, and more particularly for the seventh series, relating to the definite nature of electrochemical action." | |
| 1835 | William Rowan Hamilton | Physics | "For the papers published by him in the 16th and 17th volumes of the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, entitled Supplement to an Essay on the Theory of Systems of Rays, and more particularly for those investigations at the conclusion of the third and last supplement, which relate to the discovery of conic refraction." | |
| 1836 | George Newport | Anatomy | "For his series of investigations on the anatomy and physiology of insects, contained in his two papers published in the Philosophical Transactions within the last three years." | |
| 1836 | John Herschel | Astronomy | "For his paper on nebulae and clusters of stars, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1833." | |
| 1837 | William Whewell | Physics | "For his researches connected with the theory of the tides, communicated to the Royal Society and published in its Transactions within the last three years." | |
| 1838 | William Fox Talbot | Mathematics | "For his papers entitled Researches in the Integral Calculus, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1836 and 1837." | |
| 1838 | Thomas Graham | Chemistry | "For his paper entitled "Inquiries respecting the Constitution of salts, of oxalates, nitrates, phosphates, sulphates and chlorides," published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1836." | |
| 1839 | James Ivory | Mathematics | "For his paper on the theory of the astronomical refractions published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1838. Part II." | |
| 1839 | Martin Barry | Embryology | "For his papers on embryology, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1838 and 1839." | |
| 1840 | Charles Wheatstone | Physiology | "For his paper entitled Contributions to the physiology of vision, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1838." | |
| 1840 | John Herschel | Astronomy | "For his paper entitled On the chemical action of the rays of the solar spectrum on preparations of silver, and other substances, both metallic and non-metallic, and on some photogenic processes, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1840." | |
| 1841 | Eaton Hodgkinson | Engineering | "For his paper entitled Experimental researches on the strength of pillars of cast iron, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1840." | |
| 1841 | Robert Kane | Chemistry | "For his memoir entitled the Chemical History of archil and litmus, published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1840." | |
| 1842 | John Frederic Daniell | Chemistry | "For his letters on the electrolysis of secondary compounds and on voltaic combinations published in the Transactions for 1840 and 1842." | |
| 1842 | William Bowman | Anatomy | "For his paper on the structure and use of the Malpighian bodies of the kidney, with observations on the circulation through that gland, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the present year." | |
| 1843 | Charles Wheatstone | Physics | "For his paper entitled, an account of several new instruments and processes for determining the constants of a voltaic circuit, printed in the Philosophical Transactions for the present year." | |
| 1843 | James David Forbes | Physics | "For his researches on the law of extinction of the solar rays in passing through the atmosphere, contained in a paper published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1842." | |
| 1844 | George Boole | Mathematics | "For his paper on a general method in analysis, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the present year." | |
| 1844 | Thomas Andrews | Chemistry | "For his paper on the thermal changes accompanying basic substitutions, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the present year." | |
| 1845 | George Biddell Airy | Astronomy | "For his paper on the laws of the tides on the coast of Ireland, as inferred from an extensive series of observations made in connection with the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, published in the Philosophical Transactions for the present year." | |
| 1845 | Thomas Snow Beck | Medicine | "For his paper entitled On the nerves of the uterus, which has been ordered for publication in the Philosophical Transactions." | |
| 1846 | Michael Faraday | Physics | "For his experimental researches in electricity, twentieth and twenty first series, on new magnetic actions, and on the magnetic conditions of all matter, inserted in the Philosophical Transactions part I. for 1845." | |
| 1846 | Richard Owen | Biology | "For his paper entitled A description of certain Belemnites preserved with a great proportion of their soft parts in the Oxford clay at Christian-Malford, Wilts, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1844." | |
| 1847 | George Fownes | Chemistry | "For his papers published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1845, on the artificial formation of a vegeto-alkali, and on benzoline, published in the same volume of the Transactions" | |
| 1847 | William Robert Grove | Physics | "For his papers published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1845 and 1847, on the gas voltaic battery, and on certain phenomena of voltaic ignition" | |
| 1848 | Charles James Hargreave | Mathematics | "For his paper on the solution of linear differential equations, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1848. | |
| 1848 | Thomas Galloway | Mathematics | "For his paper on the proper motion of the Solar System, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1847" | |
| 1849 | Edward Sabine | Astronomy | "For his contributions to terrestrial magnetism, published in the Philosophical Transactions parts VII and VIII, and his memoir on the diurnal variation of the magnetic declination at Saint Helena, part I." | |
| 1849 | Gideon Mantell | Geology | "For his paper on the Iguanodon, published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1848, being a continuation of a series of papers by him on the same fossil reptile, by which he has rendered eminent services to geology." | |
| 1850 | Benjamin Brodie | Chemistry | "For his investigations on the chemical nature of wax, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1848 and 1849." | |
| 1850 | Thomas Graham | Chemistry | "For his paper on the motion of gases, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1849." | |
| 1851 | William Parsons | Astronomy | "For his observations on the nebulae published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1850." | |
| 1851 | George Newport | Entomology | "For his paper on the impregnation of the ovum in the amphibia (first series), published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1851." | |
| 1852 | James Prescott Joule | Physics | "For his paper on the mechanical equivalent of heat, printed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1850." | |
| 1852 | Thomas Henry Huxley | Biology | "For his papers on the anatomy and the affinities of the family of the Medusae, printed in the Philosophical Transactions." | |
| 1853 | Charles Darwin | Natural history | "For his work entitled Geological Observations on Coral Reefs, Volcanic Islands, and on South America, and his work, Fossil Circhipeda of Great Britain, Section Lepadidae, Monograph of the Circhipeda." | |
| 1853 | John Tyndall | Physics | "For his paper on diamagnetism and magne-crystallic action, published in the Philosophical Magazine in 1851. (the award of this medal was declined by Dr Tyndall)" | |
| 1854 | August Wilhelm von Hofmann | Chemistry | "For his researches in organic chemistry published in the Transactions of the Royal and Chemical Societies." | |
| 1854 | Joseph Dalton Hooker | Botany | "For his researches in various branches of science, especially in botany, as naturalist of the Antarctic expedition of Sir James Ross, and in an expedition to the eastern part of the Himalayan range; of which researches part has been published in works entitled The Antarctic Flora, and the Flora of New Zealand, and in various other communications, and part is now in course of publication." | |
| 1855 | John Obadiah Westwood | Entomology | "For his various monographs and papers on entomology." | |
| 1855 | John Russell Hind | Astronomy | "For the discovery of ten planetoids, the computation of their orbits, and various other astronomical discoveries." | |
| 1856 | John Richardson | Natural history | "For his contributions to natural history and physical geography." | |
| 1856 | William Thomson | Physics | "For his various chemical researches relating to electricity, to the motive power of heat, and to other subjects." | |
| 1857 | Edward Frankland | Chemistry | "For the isolation of the organic radicals of the alcohols, and for his researches on the metallic derivatives of alcohol." | |
| 1857 | John Lindley | Botany | "For his numerous researches and works on all branches of scientific botany, and especially for his vegetable kingdom, and his genera & species of Orchideae." | |
| 1858 | Albany Hancock | Biology | "For his various researches on the anatomy of the mollusca." | |
| 1858 | William Lassell | Astronomy | "For his various astronomical discoveries and researches." | |
| 1859 | Arthur Cayley | Mathematics | "For his mathematical papers published in the Philosophical Transactions, and in various English and foreign journals." | |
| 1859 | George Bentham | Botany | "For his important contributions to the advancement of systematic and descriptive botany." | |
| 1860 | Augustus Volney Waller | Neurophysiology | "For his investigations into the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system, and for the introduction of a valuable method of conducting such investigations." | |
| 1860 | William Fairbairn | Structural engineering | "For his various experimental inquiries on the properties of the materials employed in mechanical construction, contained in the Philosophical transactions, and in the publications of other scientific societies." | |
| 1861 | James Joseph Sylvester | Mathematics | "For his various memoirs and researches in mathematical science." | |
| 1861 | William Benjamin Carpenter | Physiology | "For his researches on the Foraminifera, contained in four memoirs in the Philosophical Transactions, his investigations into the structure of shell, his observations on the embryonic development of Purpura, and his various other writings in physiology and comparative anatomy" | |
| 1862 | Alexander William Williamson | Chemistry | "For his researches on the compound ethers, and his subsequent communications in organic chemistry." | |
| 1862 | John Thomas Romney Robinson | Astronomy | "For the Armagh catalogue of 5345 stars, deduced from observations made at the Armagh Observatory, from the years 1820 up to 1854; for his papers on the construction of astronomical instruments in the memoirs of the Astronomical Society, and his paper on electromagnets in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy." | |
| 1863 | John Peter Gassiot | Physics | "For his researches on the voltaic battery and current, and on the discharge of electricity through attenuated media." | |
| 1863 | Miles Berkeley | Botany | "For his researches in cryptogamic botany, especially mycology." | |
| 1864 | Jacob Lockhart Clarke | Anatomy | "For his researches on the intimate structure of the spinal cord and brain, and on the development of the spinal cord, published in five memoirs in the Philosophical Transactions and in other writings." | |
| 1864 | Warren De la Rue | Astronomy | "For his observations on the total eclipse of the Sun of 1860, and for his improvements in astronomical photography." | |
| 1865 | Archibald Smith | Mathematics | "For his papers in the Philosophical Transactions and elsewhere, on the magnetism of ships." | |
| 1865 | Joseph Prestwich | Geology | "For his numerous & valuable contributions to geological science and more especially for his papers published in the Philosophical Transactions on the general question of the excavation of river valleys, and on the superficial deposits in France and England in which the works of man are associated with the remains of extinct animals." | |
| 1866 | William Huggins | Astronomy | "For his researches on the spectra of some of the chemical elements and on the spectra of certain of the heavenly bodies; and especially for his researches on the spectra of the nebulae, published in the Philosophical Transactions." | |
| 1866 | William Kitchen Parker | Anatomy | "For his researches in comparative osteology, and more especially on the anatomy of the skull, as contained in papers published in the Transactions of the Zoological Society and the Philosophical Transactions." | |
| 1867 | John Bennet Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert | Chemistry | "For their researches in agricultural chemistry." | |
| 1867 | William Edmond Logan | Geology | "For his geological researches in Canada, and the construction of a geological map of that colony." | |
| 1868 | Alfred Russel Wallace | Zoology | "For his labours in practical and theoretical zoology." | |
| 1868 | George Salmon | Mathematics | "For his researches in analytical geometry and the theory of surfaces, published in the Philosophical Transactions, the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, and the Quarterly Journal of Mathematics." | |
| 1869 | Augustus Matthiessen | Chemistry | "For his researches on the electrical and other physical properties of metals and their alloys." | |
| 1869 | Thomas Maclear | Astronomy | "For his measurement of an arc of the meridian at the Cape of Good Hope." | |
| 1870 | Thomas Davidson | Paleontology | "For his works on the recent and fossil Brachiopoda, more especially his series of monographs in the publications of the Palaeontographical Society." | |
| 1870 | William Hallowes Miller | Mineralogy | "For his researches and writings on mineralogy and crystallography, and his scientific labours in the restoration of the National Standard of Weight." | |
| 1871 | George Busk | Zoology | "For his researches in zoology, physiology, and comparative anatomy." | |
| 1871 | John Stenhouse | Chemistry | "For his researches on the lichens & their proximate constituents and derivatives, including Erythrite; and for his researches on the action of charcoal in purifying air." | |
| 1872 | Henry John Carter | Zoology | "For his long continued and valuable researches in zoology, and more especially for his inquiries into the natural history of the Spongiadae." | |
| 1872 | Thomas Anderson | Chemistry | "For his investigations on the organic bases of Dippells animal oil; on codeine; on the crystallized constituents of opium; on piperin and on papaverin; and for his researches in physiological and animal chemistry." | |
| 1873 | George James Allman | Zoology | "For his researches in zoology, and especially for his memoirs on the structure, development, and physiology of the gymnoblastic hydroids." | |
| 1873 | Henry Enfield Roscoe | Chemistry | "For his various chemical investigations, especially fot those on the chemical action of light, and upon the element Vanadium and its combinations." | |
| 1874 | Henry Clifton Sorby | Geology | "For his researches on Slaty cleavage and on the minute structure of minerals and rocks; for the construction of the microspectroscope, and for his researches on colouring matters." | |
| 1874 | William Crawford Williamson | Paleontology | "For his contributions to zoology & palaeontology, & especially for his investigations into the structure of the fossil plants of the coal measures." | |
| 1875 | Thomas Oldham | Geology | "For his long & important services in the science of geology, first as Professor of Geology, Trin. Col. Dub. And Director of the Geol. Survey of Ireland & chiefly for the great work which he has long conducted as superintendent of the Geol. Survey of India, also for the series of volumes of geological reports and memoirs, including the Palaeontographica Indica published under his direction." | |
| 1875 | William Crookes | Chemistry | "For his various chemical and physical researches, more especially for his discovery of thallium, his investigation of its compounds and determination of its atomic weight; and for his discovery of the repulsion referable to radiation." | |
| 1876 | Charles Wyville Thomson | Zoology | "For his successful direction of the scientific investigations carried on by HMS Challenger." | |
| 1876 | William Froude | Hydrodynamics | "For his researches both theoretical and experimental on the behaviour of ships, their oscillations, their resistance, & propulsion." | |
| 1877 | Frederick Augustus Abel | Chemistry | "For his physico-chemical researches on gun cotton & explosive agents." | |
| 1877 | Oswald Heer | Natural History | "For his numerous researches & writings on the tertiary plants of Europe, of the North Atlantic, North Asia, and North America, and for his able generalizations respecting their affinities, and their geological & climatic relations." | |
| 1878 | Albert Gunther | Zoology | "For his numerous & valuable contributions to the zoology & anatomy of fishes & reptiles." | |
| 1878 | John Allan Broun | Meteorology | "For his investigations during thirty five years in magnetism and meteorology & for his improvements in methods of observation." | |
| 1879 | Andrew Crombie Ramsay | Geology | "For his long continued & successful labours in geology and physical geography." | |
| 1879 | William Henry Perkin | Chemistry | "For his synthetical & other researches in organic chemistry." | |
| 1880 | Andrew Noble | Physics | "For his researches into the action of explosives; his invention of the chronoscope; and other mathematical & physical inquiries." | |
| 1880 | Joseph Lister | Surgery | "For his contributions on various physiological & biological subjects published in the Philosophical Transactions & Proceedings of the Royal Society & elsewhere; and for his labours practical and theoretical, on questions relating to the antiseptic system of treatment in surgery." | |
| 1881 | John Hewitt Jellett | Mathematics | "For his various mathematical & physical papers, more especially for his researches in chemical optics, & his invention of the new and delicate analyser by which they were carried out." | |
| 1881 | Francis Maitland Balfour | Biology | "For his numerous and important contributions to animal morphology; and more especially for his investigations respecting the origin of the urogenital organs and the cerebrospinal nerves of the Vertebrata; and for his work on the development of the Elasmobranch fishes." | |
| 1882 | John Strutt | Physics | "For his various papers in mathematical and experimental physics." | |
| 1882 | William Henry Flower | Biology | "For his valuable contributions to the morphology and classification of the Mammalia and to anthropology." | |
| 1883 | Thomas Archer Hirst | Mathematics | "For his researches in pure mathematics." | |
| 1883 | John Scott Burdon-Sanderson | Physiology | "For the eminent services which he has rendered to physiology and pathology, especially for his investigation of the relations of micro-organisms to disease, and his researches on the electric phenomena of plants." | |
| 1884 | George Darwin | Mathematics | "For his mathematical investigations on the rigidity of the Earth, and on tides." | |
| 1884 | Daniel Oliver | Botany | "For his investigations in the classification of plants, and for the great services which he has rendered to taxonomic botany." | |
| 1885 | David Edward Hughes | Electrical engineering | "For his electric and magnetic researches, and his invention of the microphone & the induction balance." | |
| 1885 | Ray Lankester | Zoology | "For his discoveries concerning the embryology and morphology of the mollusca and his services to embryology & animal morphology in general." | |
| 1886 | Peter Guthrie Tait | Physics | "For his various mathematical and physical researches." | |
| 1886 | Francis Galton | Biology | "For his statistical inquiries into biological phenomena." | |
| 1887 | Alexander Ross Clarke | Geodesy | "For his comparison of standards of length and determination of the figure of the Earth." | |
| 1887 | Henry Nottidge Moseley | Natural history | "For his numerous researches in animal morphology, and especially his investigations." | |
| 1888 | Osborne Reynolds | Physics | "For his investigations in mathematical & experimental physics, and on the application of scientific theory to engineering." | |
| 1888 | Ferdinand von Mueller | Geography | "For his long services in Australian exploration and for his investigations of the flora of the Australian continent." | |
| 1889 | Thomas Edward Thorpe | Chemistry | "For his researches on fluorine compounds, and his determination of the atomic weights of titanium and gold." | |
| 1889 | Walter Holbrook Gaskell | Physiology | "For his researches in cardiac physiology and his important discoveries in the anatomy and physiology of the sympathetic nervous system." | |
| 1890 | John Hopkinson | Physics | "For his researches in magnetism and electricity." | |
| 1890 | David Ferrier | Neurology | "For his researches on the localisation of cerebral functions." | |
| 1891 | Arthur William Rucker | Physics | "For his researches on liquid films, and his contributions to our knowledge of terrestrial magnetism." | |
| 1891 | Charles Lapworth | Geology | "For his researches among the older rocks of Britain." | |
| 1892 | Charles Pritchard | Astronomy | "For his work on photometry and stellar parallax." | |
| 1892 | John Newport Langley | Physiology | "For his work on secreting glands, and on the nervous system." | |
| 1893 | Harry Marshall Ward | Botany | "For his researches into the life-history of fungi and schizomycetes." | |
| 1893 | Arthur Schuster | Physics | "For his spectroscopic inquiries, and his researches on disruptive discharge through gases and on terrestrial magnetism." | |
| 1894 | Joseph John Thomson | Physics | "For his contributions to mathematical and experimental physics especially to electrical theory." | |
| 1894 | Victor Horsley | Physiology | "For his investigations relating to the physiology of the nervous system, and of the thyroid gland, and to their applications to the treatment of disease." | |
| 1895 | John Murray | Oceanography | "For his services to biological science and oceanography in connection with the "Challenger" reports, and for his original contributions to the same." | |
| 1895 | James Alfred Ewing | Physics | "For his investigations on magnetic induction in iron and other metals. | |
| 1896 | Archibald Geikie | Geology | "For his many original contributions to geology especially those upon the Old Red Sandstone of Western Europe." | |
| 1896 | Charles Vernon Boys | Physics | "For his invention of Quartz Fibres and investigation of their properties, his improvement of the radio-micrometer and investigations with it, for developments in the art of instantaneous photography, and for his determination of the value of the constant of attraction." | |
| 1897 | Richard Strachey | Geology | "For his researches in geographical, meteorological, and botanical science." | |
| 1897 | Andrew Forsyth | Mathematics | "For his contributions to the progress of pure mathematics, and especially for his work in differential equations and the theory of functions." | |
| 1898 | John Kerr | Physics | "For his researches on the optical effect of electrical stress and on the reflection of light at the surface of a magnetised body." | |
| 1898 | Walter Gardiner | Botany | "For his researches on the protoplasmic connection of the cells of vegetable tissues and on the minute histology of plants." | |
| 1899 | William Carmichael McIntosh | Marine biology | "For his important monographs on British marine zoology and on the fishing industries." | |
| 1899 | George Francis Fitzgerald | Physics | "For his contributions to physical science, especially in the domains of optics and electricity." | |
| 1900 | Alfred Newton | Ornithology | "For his eminent contributions to the science of ornithology and the geographical distribution of animals." | |
| 1900 | Percy Alexander MacMahon | Mathematics | "For the number and range of his contributions to mathematical science" | |
| 1901 | William Edward Ayrton | Electrical engineering | "For his contributions to electrical science." | |
| 1901 | William Thomas Blanford | Geology | "For his work in connection with the geographical distribution of animals" | |
| 1902 | Edward Albert Schafer | Neurology | "For his researches into the functions and minute structure of the Central Nervous System, especially with regard to the motor and sensory functions of the cortex of the brain." | |
| 1902 | Horace Lamb | Applied mathematics | "For his investigations in mathematical physics." | |
| 1903 | David Gill | Astronomy | "For his researches in solar and stellar parallax, and his energetic direction of the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope." | |
| 1903 | Horace Tabberer Brown | Chemistry | "For his work on the chemistry of the carbohydrates and on the assimilation of carbonic acid by green plants." | |
| 1904 | David Bruce | Microbiology | "For his valuable researches in the pathology of Malta fever, nagana, and sleeping sickness, and especially for his discoveries as regards the exact causes of these diseases." | |
| 1904 | William Burnside | Mathematics | "For his researches in mathematics, particularly in the theory of groups." | |
| 1905 | Charles Scott Sherrington | Neurophysiology | "For his researches on the Central Nervous System especially in relation to reflex action." | |
| 1905 | John Henry Poynting | Physics | "For his researches in physical science, especially in connection with the constant of gravitation and the theories of electrodynamics and radiation." | |
| 1906 | Alfred George Greenhill | Mathematics | "For his contributions to mathematics, especially the elliptic functions and their applications." | |
| 1906 | Dukinfield Henry Scott | Botany | "For his investigations and discoveries in connection with the structure and relationship of fossil plants." | |
| 1907 | Ernest William Hobson | Mathematics | "On the ground of his investigations in mathematics." | |
| 1907 | Ramsay Heatley Traquair | Natural history | "On the ground of his discoveries relating to fossil fishes." | |
| 1908 | Henry Head | Neurology | "On the ground of his researches on the relations between the visceral & somatic nerves and on the functions of the different nerves." | |
| 1908 | John Milne | Geology | "On the ground of his work in seismology." | |
| 1909 | Augustus Love | Mathematics | "On the ground of his researches in the theory of elasticity and cognate subjects." | |
| 1909 | Ronald Ross | Medicine | "On the ground of his researches in connection with malaria." | |
| 1910 | Frederick Orpen Bower | Botany | "On the ground of his treatise on the origin of a land flora." | |
| 1910 | John Joly | Geology | "On the ground of researches in physics and geology." | |
| 1911 | George Chrystal | Mathematics | "On the ground of his work in mathematics and physics." | |
| 1911 | William Maddock Bayliss | Physiology | "On the ground of his researches in physiology." | |
| 1912 | Grafton Elliot Smith | Anatomy | no rationale given | |
| 1912 | William Mitchinson Hicks | Physics | "On the ground of his researches in mathematical physics." | |
| 1913 | Ernest Henry Starling | Physiology | "On the ground of his contributions to the advancement of physiology." | |
| 1913 | Harold Baily Dixon | Chemistry | "On the ground of his eminence in physical chemistry, especially in connexion with explosions in gases." | |
| 1914 | Ernest William Brown | Astronomy | "For investigations in astronomy, chiefly in the lunar theory." | |
| 1914 | William Johnson Sollas | Geology | "For researches in palaeontology." | |
| 1915 | Joseph Larmor | Mathematics | "On the ground of his numerous and important contributions to mathematical and physical science." | |
| 1915 | William Halse Rivers Rivers | Ethnology | "On the ground of his important contributions to ethnography and ethnology." | |
| 1916 | Hector Munro Macdonald | Mathematics | "For his contributions to mathematical physics." | |
| 1916 | John Scott Haldane | Physiology | "For his distinguished services to chemical physiology, more especially in reference to the chemical changes in respiration." | |
| 1917 | Arthur Smith Woodward | Palaeontology | "On the ground of his researches in vertebrate palaeontology." | |
| 1917 | John Aitken | Meteorology | "On the ground of his work on cloudy condensations." | |
| 1918 | Alfred Fowler | Astronomy | "For his distinguished researches in physical astronomy and spectroscopy." | |
| 1918 | Frederick Gowland Hopkins | Biochemistry | "On the ground of his researches in chemical physiology." | |
| 1919 | James Hopwood Jeans | Mathematics | "On the ground of his researches in applied mathematics." | |
| 1919 | John Bretland Farmer | Botany | "On the ground of his notable work on plant and animal cytology." | |
| 1920 | Godfrey Harold Hardy | Mathematics | "On the ground of his researches in pure mathematics." | |
| 1920 | William Bateson | Genetics | "On the ground of his contributions to biological science, and especially his studies in genetics." | |
| 1921 | Frank Watson Dyson | Astronomy | "For his researches on the distribution and movement of the stars." | |
| 1921 | Frederick Blackman | Botany | "For his researches on the gaseous exchange in plants & on the operation of limiting factors." | |
| 1922 | Charles Thomson Rees Wilson | Meteorology | "For his researches on condensation nuclei and atmospheric electricity." | |
| 1922 | Joseph Barcroft | Physiology | "For his researches in physiology and especially for his work in connection with respiration." | |
| 1923 | Charles James Martin | Physiology | "For his researches on animal metabolism" | |
| 1923 | Napier Shaw | Meteorology | "For his researches in meteorological science" | |
| 1924 | Dugald Clerk | Engineering | "For his application of scientific principles to engineering problems." | |
| 1924 | Henry Hallett Dale | Pharmacology | "For his researches in pharmacology and physiology." | |
| 1925 | Albert Seward | Botany | "For his researches on the palaeobotany of Gondwanaland." | |
| 1925 | William Henry Perkin Jr. | Organic chemistry | "For his work on the constitution of the alkaloids carried out during the past few years." | |
| 1926 | Archibald Hill | Physiology | "For his distinguished work on the physical and chemical aspects of muscular contraction." | |
| 1926 | William Bate Hardy | Biochemistry | "For his pioneer work on colloidal chemistry and the theory of lubrication." | |
| 1927 | John Cunningham McLennan | Physics | "For his researches in spectroscopy and atomic physics." | |
| 1927 | Thomas Lewis | Cardiology | "For his researches on the vascular system, following upon his earlier work on the mammalian heart-beat." | |
| 1928 | Arthur Eddington | Astrophysics | "For his contributions to astrophysics." | |
| 1928 | Robert Broom | Palaeontology | "For his discoveries which have shed new light on the problem of the origin of mammals." | |
| 1929 | John Edensor Littlewood | Mathematics | "For his work on mathematical analysis and the theory of prime numbers." | |
| 1929 | Robert Muir | Pathology | "For his contributions to the science of immunology." | |
| 1930 | John Edward Marr | Geology | "For his pioneer work in the accurate zoning of the palaeozoic rocks." | |
| 1930 | Owen Willans Richardson | Physics | "For his work on thermionics and spectroscopy." | |
| 1931 | Richard Glazebrook | Physics | "For his distinguished work in experimental physics." | |
| 1931 | William Henry Lang | Botany | "For his work on the anatomy and morphology of the fern-like fossils of the Old Red Sandstone." | |
| 1932 | Edward Mellanby | Pharmacology | "For his important researches on dietary factors, particularly in connexion with rickets." | |
| 1932 | Robert Robinson | Chemistry | "For his work in many branches of organic chemistry, especially on the structure of plant products and their phytochemical synthesis." | |
| 1933 | Geoffrey Ingram Taylor | Physics | "For his mathematical work in physics, geophysics and aerodynamics." | |
| 1933 | Patrick Playfair Laidlaw | Virology | "For his work on diseases due to viruses, including that on the cause and prevention of distemper in dogs." | |
| 1934 | Edgar Douglas Adrian | Electrophysiology | "For his work on the physiology of nerve and its application to the problems of sensation." | |
| 1934 | Sydney Chapman | Geophysics | "For his researches in the kinetic theory of gases, in terrestrial magnetism and in the phenomena of the upper atmosphere." | |
| 1935 | Alfred Harker | Petrology | "In recognition of his distinguished work and influence as a petrologist." | |
| 1935 | Charles Galton Darwin | Physics | "For his researches in mathematical physics, especially in the quantum mechanics of the electron and in optics." | |
| 1936 | Edwin Stephen Goodrich | Zoology | "For his work on the morphology of the excretory organs of the invertebrate and for his work on the comparative anatomy and embryology of the vertebrata." | |
| 1936 | Ralph Howard Fowler | Physics | "For his work on statistical mechanics and allied departments of modern mathematical physics." | |
| 1937 | Arthur Henry Reginald Buller | Biology | "In recognition of his researches on the general biology and sexuality of the fungi." | |
| 1937 | Nevil Vincent Sidgwick | Chemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished work on valency and on molecular structure." | |
| 1938 | Francis William Aston | Physics | "For his discovery of the isotopes of non-radioactive elements." | |
| 1938 | Ronald Aylmer Fisher | Statistics | "For his important contributions to the theory and practice of statistical methods." | |
| 1939 | David Keilin | Entomology | "For his contributions to biochemistry and entomology; in particular for his demonstration of the part played by cytochrome in the oxidation-reduction mechanisms of the living cell; and for his studies of the higher diptera." | |
| 1939 | Paul Dirac | Physics | "For the leading part he had taken in the development of the new quantum mechanics." | |
| 1940 | Francis Hugh Adam Marshall | Physiology | "For his contributions to the physiology of animal reproduction." | |
| 1940 | Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett | Physics | "For his studies of cosmic rays and the showers of particles which they produce, for his share in the discovery of the positive electron, for his work on mesons and many other experimental achievements." | |
| 1941 | Ernest Kennaway | Pathology | "For his discovery of the nature of the carcinogenic substances in coal tar and for his investigations on production of cancer by synthetic substances." | |
| 1941 | Edward Arthur Milne | Astrophysics | "For his researches on the atmospheres of the earth and the sun, on the internal constitution of the stars, and on the theory of relativity." | |
| 1942 | William Whiteman Carlton Topley | Bacteriology | "For his outstanding work on experimental epidemiology and immunology." | |
| 1942 | Walter Norman Haworth | Chemistry | "For his fundamental contributions to organic chemistry, particularly to the constitution of the sugars and the structure of complex polysaccharides." | |
| 1943 | Edward Battersby Bailey | Geology | "For his distinguished contributions to the knowledge of mountain structure and his studies on the tectonics of vulcanism." | |
| 1943 | Harold Spencer Jones | Astronomy | "For his determination of the solar parallax and of other fundamental astronomical constants." | |
| 1944 | Charles Robert Harington | Chemistry | "For his work in the analysis and synthesis of thyroxine, and in immunological chemistry." | |
| 1944 | David Brunt | Meteorology | "For his fundamental contributions to meteorology." | |
| 1945 | Edward James Salisbury | Botany | "For his notable contributions to plant ecology and to the study of the British flora generally." | |
| 1945 | John Desmond Bernal | Crystallography | "For his work on the structure of proteins and other substances by X-ray methods and for the solution of many other problems requiring a physical approach." | |
| 1946 | Cyril Dean Darlington | Biology | "For his distinguished researches in cytology and genetics." | |
| 1946 | Lawrence Bragg | Physics | "For his distinguished researches in the sciences of X-ray structure analysis and X-ray spectroscopy." | |
| 1947 | Frank Macfarlane Burnet | Virology | "For his distinguished work on bacteriophages, viruses and immunity; and for his contributions to the study of infectious disease as an ecological phenomenon." | |
| 1947 | Cyril Norman Hinshelwood | Chemistry | "For his distinguished work on the mechanism of chemical reactions from the simplest gas phase processes to the complexities of cell division." | |
| 1948 | James Gray | Zoology | "For his distinguished researches in cytology, ciliary movement, and particularly his anatomical and experimental studies of animal posture and locomotion." | |
| 1948 | Harold Jeffreys | Geophysics | "For his distinguished work in geophysics and his important contributions to the astronomy of the solar system. | |
| 1949 | Rudolph Albert Peters | Biochemistry | "For his distinguished biochemical researches, in particular his investigations of (i) the biochemical role of vitamin B1 in tissue metabolism; and (ii) the mechanism of the toxic action of lewisite and other arsenical compounds." | |
| 1949 | George Paget Thomson | Physics | "For his distinguished contributions to many branches of atomic physics, and especially for his work in establishing the wave properties of the electron." | |
| 1950 | Carl Frederick Abel Pantin | Zoology | "For his contributions to the comparative physiology of the Invertebrata, particularly his work on nerve conduction in Crustacea and Actinozoa." | |
| 1950 | Edward Appleton | Physics | "For his work on the ele [sic] transmission of electromagnetic waves round the earth and for his investigations of the ionic state of the upper atmosphere." | |
| 1951 | Howard Florey | Pharmacology | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to pathology by his studies of the functions of mucin and by his work on penicillin and other antibiotics." | |
| 1951 | Ian Heilbron | Chemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to organic chemistry, notably in the field of vitamin A and polyene synthesis." | |
| 1952 | Frederic Bartlett | Experimental psychology | "In recognition of his creation of an experimental school of psychology which has established under his leadership an outstanding position recognized internationally as without superior." | |
| 1952 | Christopher Kelk Ingold | Chemistry | "In recognition of his extensive theoretical and practical studies of the mechanism of organic chemical reactions and the factors influencing them; and for his analysis of the structure of benzene." | |
| 1953 | Paul Fildes | Microbiology | "In recognition of his classical researches on growth factors for bacteria and for laying the foundation of work leading to a rational approach to chemotherapy." | |
| 1953 | Nevill Francis Mott | Physics | "In recognition of his eminent work in the field of quantum theory and particularly in the theory of metals." | |
| 1954 | Hans Adolf Krebs | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his discovery of two key reactions in animal metabolism and for his distinguished contributions to the knowledge of cell energetics." | |
| 1954 | John Cockcroft | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished work on nuclear and atomic physics." | |
| 1955 | Vincent Wigglesworth | Entomology | "In recognition of his distinguished experimental contributions of outstanding value to many aspects of insect physiology." | |
| 1955 | Alexander Todd | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished work in organic chemistry." | |
| 1956 | Owen Thomas Jones | Geology | "In recognition of his distinguished studies in the Palaeozoic rocks, particularly in Wales, his work on sediments, his palaeontological researches and the application of geological knowledge to practical problems." | |
| 1956 | Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin | Chemistry | "In recognition of her distinguished work in the elucidation of structures of penicillin, vitamin B12 and other important compounds by the methods of X-ray crystallography." | |
| 1957 | Frederick Gugenheim Gregory | Botany | "In recognition of his distinguished studies in plant physiology." | |
| 1957 | William Vallance Douglas Hodge | Mathematics | "In recognition of his distinguished work on algebraic geometry." | |
| 1958 | Alan Lloyd Hodgkin | Physiology | "In recognition of his distinguished work on the mechanism of excitation and conduction in nerve and muscle." | |
| 1958 | Harrie Stewart Wilson Massey | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to physics, and particularly for his experimental and theoretical studies of collision phenomena in gases." | |
| 1959 | Peter Brian Medawar | Physiology | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions in the field of tissue transplantation immunity and acquired tolerance." | |
| 1959 | Rudolf Peierls | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished work on the theoretical foundations of high energy and nuclear physics." | |
| 1960 | Roy Cameron | Pathology | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions in the field of cellular pathology" | |
| 1960 | Bernard Lovell | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to radio astronomy." | |
| 1961 | Wilfrid Le Gros Clark | Physiology | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to neuroanatomy and primate morphology, which he has combined to provide new knowledge of human evolution." | |
| 1961 | Cecil Frank Powell | Physics | "In recognition of his pioneering work on the development of the photographic emulsion technique in the investigation of cosmic rays and the outstanding results derived therefrom on the elementary particles in cosmic radiation." | |
| 1962 | John Carew Eccles | Neurophysiology | "In recognition of his distinguished investigations of the function of the spinal cord, particularly of the mechanisms of excitation and inhibition." | |
| 1962 | Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar | Astrophysics | "In recognition of his distinguished researches in mathematical physics, particularly those related to the stability of convective motions in fluids with and without magnetic fields." | |
| 1963 | Herbert Harold Read | Geology | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the understanding of the processes of rock metamorphism and the origins of granite." | |
| 1963 | Robert Hill | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished work in biochemistry of plants, especially for his contributions to knowledge of photosynthesis." | |
| 1964 | Francis Brambell | Medicine | "In recognition of his important contribution to our understanding of the passage of protein from maternal to foetal circulations." | |
| 1964 | Michael James Lighthill | Aeroacoustics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to knowledge of the flow of compressible gases, and the mathematical theory of distributions." | |
| 1965 | Henry Charles Husband | Engineering | "In recognition of his distinguished work in many aspects of engineering, particularly for his design studies of large structures such as those exemplified in the radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank and Goonhilly Downs." | |
| 1965 | John Cowdery Kendrew | Crystallography | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the complete structural analysis of a protein molecule (myoglobin), particularly the biological aspects of this study." | |
| 1965 | Raymond Arthur Lyttleton | Astronomy | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to astronomy, particularly for his work on the dynamical stability of galaxies." | |
| 1966 | Christopher Cockerell | Engineering | "In recognition of his pioneering invention, and major contributions to the subsequent development of hovercraft." | |
| 1966 | Frank Yates | Statistical biology | "In recognition of his profound and far-reaching contributions to the statistical methods of experimental biology." | |
| 1966 | John Ashworth Ratcliffe | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished studies in the ionosphere and on the propagation of radio waves." | |
| 1967 | Joseph Hutchinson | Biology | "In recognition of his distinguished work on the genetics and evolution of crop-plants with particular reference to cotton." | |
| 1967 | John Zachary Young | Neurophysiology | "In recognition of his outstanding researches correlating neural structure with function." | |
| 1967 | Cecil Edgar Tilley | Petrology | "In recognition of his many distinguished contributions in all branches of retrology." | |
| 1968 | Gilbert Roberts | Engineering | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to civil engineering, and in particular to the design and construction of long-span suspension bridges." | |
| 1968 | Walter Thomas James Morgan | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to knowledge of the chemistry of blood-group substances, with special reference to genetical as well as immunological considerations." | |
| 1968 | Michael Francis Atiyah | Mathematics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to algebraic geometry and to the study of differential equations by the methods of algebraic topology." | |
| 1969 | Charles William Oatley | Electrical engineering | "In recognition of his distinguished work in the wartime development of radar and latterly for the design and development of a highly successful scanning electron microscope." | |
| 1969 | Frederick Sanger | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his pioneer work on the sequence of amino acids in proteins and of nucleotides of ribonucleic acids." | |
| 1969 | George Edward Raven Deacon | Oceanography | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to physical oceanography and for his leadership as director of the National Institute of Oceanography." | |
| 1970 | John Fleetwood Baker | Engineering | "In recognition of his fundamental and applied work on the plastic behaviour and design of framed structures which is now being used throughout the world." | |
| 1970 | William Albert Hugh Rushton | Physiology | "In recognition of his distinguished work on the visual pigments in the living eye and on chemical and nervous adaptation in the retina." | |
| 1970 | Kingsley Charles Dunham | Geology | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to pure and applied geology, and especially in the field of metallic ore deposits." | |
| 1971 | Percy Edward Kent | Geology | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to oil and gas exploration and the geology of oil and gas fields." | |
| 1971 | Max Perutz | Biology | "In recognition of his pioneering work on the molecular biology and structure of proteins." | |
| 1971 | Gerhard Herzberg | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished experimental researches in atomic and molecular spectroscopy and its applications in chemistry, physics and astronomy." | |
| 1972 | Wilfrid Bennett Lewis | Nuclear physics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the science and technology of heavy water reactors for power generation." | |
| 1972 | Francis Crick | Biology | "In recognition of his elucidation of the structure of DNA and his continuing contribution to molecular biology." | |
| 1972 | Derek Barton | Chemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to organic chemistry, especially his theories on the conformation of organic molecules and his syntheses of natural products." | |
| 1973 | Edward Penley Abraham | Biology | "In recognition of his outstanding work on the isolation, characterization and development of the cephalosporin group of antibiotics." | |
| 1973 | Rodney Robert Porter | Biology | "In recognition of his penetrating investigations on the structure of immunoglobulins." | |
| 1973 | Martin Ryle | Astronomy | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to radioastronomy." | |
| 1974 | Sydney Brenner | Biology | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to molecular biology concerning the nature of the genetic code and its expression during development." | |
| 1974 | George Edwards | Engineering | "In recognition of his many contributions to aeronautical engineering, particularly in the realization of supersonic aircraft." | |
| 1974 | Fred Hoyle | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to theoretical physics and cosmology." | |
| 1975 | Barnes Wallis | Engineering | "In recognition of the originality of his ideas and the determination with which he has pursued them." | |
| 1975 | David Chilton Phillips | Biology | "In recognition of his solution of the three-dimensional structure of an enzyme and his outstanding contributions to the techniques of x-ray crystallography." | |
| 1975 | Edward Bullard | Geophysics | "In recognition of his distinction as a world leader in geophysics, especially the generation of the earths magnetic field, the origin of the oceans and continental drift." | |
| 1976 | Alan Walsh | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to emission and infra-red spectroscopy and his origination of the atomic absorption method of quantitative analysis." | |
| 1976 | James Learmonth Gowans | Medicine | "In recognition of his distinguished research in the field of immunology, especially as regards the recirculation and immunological role of lymphocytes" | |
| 1976 | John Warcup Cornforth | Chemistry | "In recognition of his fundamental contribution to the stereochemical unravelling of the biosynthesis of squalene and cholesterol from acetate and mevalonate." | |
| 1977 | John Bertram Adams | Physics | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the design and operation of high-energy particle accelerators." | |
| 1977 | Hugh Esmor Huxley | Biology | "In recognition of his distinguished research on the structure of muscle and on the molecular mechanisms of contraction." | |
| 1977 | Peter Hirsch | Materials science | "In recognition of his distinguished studies of defects in crystals and especially of his elucidation of the process of work hardening." | |
| 1978 | Tom Kilburn | Engineering | "In recognition of his outstanding individual and continuing contribution to the development of computer hardware in the United Kingdom over the last thirty years." | |
| 1978 | Roderic Alfred Gregory | Biology | "In recognition of his distinguished studies of the biological activity of peptide hormones in relation to their structure." | |
| 1978 | Abdus Salam | Physics | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the physics of elementary particles with special reference to the unification of the electromagnetic and weak interactions." | |
| 1979 | Vernon Ellis Cosslett | Physics | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the design and development of the X-ray microscope, the scanning electron microprobe analyser, the high voltage and ultrahigh resolution (2.5A) electron microscopes and their applications in many disciplines." | |
| 1979 | Hans Walter Kosterlitz | Biology | "In recognition of his distinguished work on narcotics leading to the discovery in 1975 of the enkephalins." | |
| 1979 | Charles Frank | Physics | "In recognition of his outstanding original contributions to the theory of crystal growth, dislocations, phase transformations and polymers, with wide applications in physics, chemistry and geology." | |
| 1980 | John Paul Wild | Astronomy | "In recognition of his conception of the basic principles of the Interscan aircraft instrument landing system and the guidance of its development to a successful conclusion." | |
| 1980 | Henry Harris | Medicine | "In recognition of his development of cell fusion for the study of somatic-cell genetics and differentiation including the genetic control of malignancy." | |
| 1980 | Denys Wilkinson | Physics | "In recognition of his highly original research in nuclear physics and of his outstanding contributions on giant resonances, radiative widths, second-class beta decay and the fundamental symmetries of nuclear interactions and also on instrumentation." | |
| 1981 | Ralph Riley | Genetics | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to understanding the genetics of wheat and the development of new methods of producing improved varieties." | |
| 1981 | Marthe Louise Vogt | Neuroscience | "In recognition of her important contributions to synaptic biochemistry and pharmacology which are fundamental to modern neuropharmacology." | |
| 1981 | Geoffrey Wilkinson | Chemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to preparative inorganic chemistry and in particular to the synthesis and application of organometallic compounds." | |
| 1982 | César Milstein | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his fundamental contribution to understanding the structure and genetic control of immunoglobulins; his hybridoma technique for producing monoclonal antibodies has revolutionized the potential practical applications of immunology." | |
| 1982 | William Hawthorne | Engineering | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to engineering thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, and particularly the internal aerodynamics of turbomachines." | |
| 1982 | Richard Henry Dalitz | Physics | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to particle physics, particularly in relation to the properties of strange particles." | |
| 1983 | Daniel Joseph Bradley | Physics | "In recognition of his development of the techniques of generating ultra-short light pulses from lasers, and of picosecond streak cameras." | |
| 1983 | Wilhelm Siegmund Feldberg | Biology | "In recognition of his contributions to elucidating the nature of chemical synaptic transmission in nervous systems and the regulating effects of hormones in peripheral systems." | |
| 1983 | John Kingman | Mathematics | "In recognition of his distinguished researches on queuing theory, on regenerative phenomena, and on mathematical genetics." | |
| 1984 | Alexander Lamb Cullen | Electrical engineering | "In recognition of his many distinguished contributions to microwave engineering, both theoretical and experimental, and in particular for research on microwave antennae." | |
| 1984 | Mary Lyon | Genetics | "In recognition of her distinguished contributions to the discovery of X-chromosome inactivation as a mechanism of gene dosage compensation." | |
| 1984 | Alan Battersby | Chemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the elucidation of the pathway for the biosynthesis of complex natural products." | |
| 1985 | John Argyris | Engineering | "For his great contribution to the development of finite element analysis and its application to the solution of engineering problems." | |
| 1985 | John Bertrand Gurdon | Biology | "For his outstanding contributions to the techniques of nuclear transplantation and the use of the amphibian egg for investigations on replication, transcription and translation of genes." | |
| 1985 | Roger Penrose | Physics | "For his fundamental contributions to the theory of gravitational collapse and to other geometric aspects of theoretical physics." | |
| 1986 | Eric Ash | Electrical engineering | "In recognition of his outstanding researches on acoustic microscopy leading to wholly new techniques and substantial improvements in resolution of acoustic microscopes." | |
| 1986 | Richard Doll | Physiology | "In recognition of his pioneering use of statistical and epidemiological techniques to evaluate environmental factors in disease, notably that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and bronchitis." | |
| 1986 | Rex Richards | Chemistry | "In recognition of his many contributions, both theoretical and instrumental, to nuclear magnetic resonance." | |
| 1987 | Gustav Victor Rudolf Born | Pharmacology | "In recognition of his major contributions to the physiology, pathology and pharmacology of platelets and of his widely used methods for studying platelet function in haemostasis and thrombosis." | |
| 1987 | Eric James Denton | Marine biology | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the physiology of marine animals, to marine biology generally, and his leadership of U.K. marine science." | |
| 1987 | Francis Graham-Smith | Astronomy | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to radio- and optical-astronomy." | |
| 1988 | Harold Barlow | Engineering | "In recognition of his distinguished research, particularly on microwaves and waveguides, and of his lasting influence as the founder of an unusually productive research school." | |
| 1988 | Winifred Watkins | Biochemistry | "In recognition of her fundamental contributions towards an understanding of the biochemical genetics of carbohydrate antigens on cell surfaces and in secreted glycoproteins." | |
| 1988 | George Batchelor | Mathematics | "In recognition of his distinguished work on the theory of turbulence and turbulent diffusion, and the theory of microhydrodynamics and colloidal suspensions." | |
| 1989 | John Vane | Pharmacology | "In recognition of his development of techniques to detect and monitor substances in the blood that regulate the circulation, and their application to the treatment of vascular and ischaemic conditions." | |
| 1989 | David Weatherall | Medicine | "In recognition of his pioneering work on the clinical and molecular basis of the thalassaemias, and fundamental contributions to the unravelling of their heterogeneity." | |
| 1989 | John Charles Polanyi | Chemistry | "In recognition of his pioneering work on the electromagnetic radiation emitted from chemical charges, leading to the basis of the chemical laser process." | |
| 1990 | Olgierd Cecil Zienkiewicz | Engineering | "In recognition of his pioneering development of the finite element method as a general procedure of solving problems of engineering physics and for demonstrating its success in applications to stress analysis, fluid mechanics, electromagnetics and many other situations." | |
| 1990 | Anne McLaren | Developmental biology | "In recognition of her distinguished research on mammalian embryology, particularly for providing much of the scientific basis for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, and for analysing sex determination in mammals." | |
| 1990 | Michael Berry | Physics | "In recognition of his deep and innovatory researches in classical and quantum physics, especially the discovery of the "Berry phase"." | |
| 1991 | John Mason | Physics | "In recognition of his distinguished research on cloud physics and, as Director-General of the Meteorological Office, his broadening and strengthening of research in meteorology in the UK." | |
| 1991 | Michael Berridge | Biology | "In recognition of his discovery that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate functions as a second messenger to mobilize calcium." | |
| 1991 | Dan McKenzie | Geophysics | "In recognition of his seminal role in developing a quantitative understanding of a wide range of geophysical and geological processes, including plate tectonics, mantle convection, continental deformation and melt segregation." | |
| 1992 | David Tabor | Physics | "for his seminal contributions to the basic study of friction and wear between solids, of considerable relevance to the design of machines." | |
| 1992 | Anthony Epstein | Medicine | "distinguished for the isolation of the Epstein-Barr virus which is closely associated with Burkitts lymphoma." | |
| 1992 | Simon Donaldson | Mathematics | "distinguished for his work which has revolutionized our understanding of four-dimensional geometry." | |
| 1993 | Rodney Hill | Applied mathematics | "for his outstanding contribution to the theoretical mechanics of solids, and especially the plasticity of solids." | |
| 1993 | Horace Barlow | Neuroscience | "for his outstanding and original contributions to electrophysiological, computational and psychophysical study of visual sensation and perception." | |
| 1993 | Volker Heine | Physics | "In recognition of his contributions to solid state theory, in particular the bonding and structure of solids." | |
| 1994 | Salvador Moncada | Pharmacology | "for his contributions to pharmacology and the discovery of basic mechanisms of signal transmission relevant to drug action." | |
| 1994 | Eric Mansfield | Aeronautics | "for his many fundamental and analytical contributions to our knowledge of advanced aeronautical structures, and more recently to the biological sciences." | |
| 1994 | Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar | Physics | "his many new discoveries in the understanding of liquid crystals, for a synthesis of the subject of his seminal book, "The invention of discotic liquid crystals", and for elucidating their remarkable properties." | |
| 1995 | Donald Metcalf | Medicine | "In recognition of his discovery of colony stimulating factors which regulate the growth and differentiation of normal hematopoietic and leukemic cells." | |
| 1995 | Paul Nurse | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his work on the control of the cell cycle in eukaryotic cells by his discovery of the identity and function of genes that regulate the key control points in the process of cell proliferation." | |
| 1995 | Robert J P Williams | Chemistry | "In recognition of his contributions in clearly presenting the role of inorganic elements in biological systems." | |
| 1996 | Robert Hinde | Zoology | "In recognition of his contributions to the field of animal behaviour and the dominant influence it achieved on the emerging field of ethology." | |
| 1996 | Jack Heslop-Harrison | Botany | "In recognition of his pioneering work in plant reproductive biology, in particular the areas of taxonomy and ecology, whole plant physiology, development of sub-cellular systems in somatic and reproductive cells, pollen/stigma interactions and acto/myosin transport systems within the pollen tube." | |
| 1996 | Andrew Wiles | Mathematics | "In recognition of his achievements in number theory, in particular Fermats Last Theorem and his achievements in algebraic number theory particularly the celebrated main conjecture on cyclotomic fields." | |
| 1997 | Geoffrey Eglinton | Chemistry | "In recognition of his contribution to our understanding of the way in which chemicals move from the living biosphere to the fossil geosphere, in particular the origin, genesis, maturation and migration of oil which has had great repercussions on the petroleum industry." | |
| 1997 | John Maynard Smith | Biology | "In recognition of his theoretical contributions to evolutionary biology, combining mathematics and biology to develop a sound understanding in such fields as population dynamics, paleobiology, ethology, behavioural ecology, bacteriology and genetics." | |
| 1997 | Donald Hill Perkins | Physics | "In recognition of his contributions to experimental particle physics, in particular the elucidation of the structure of the nucleon on the basis of observations of neutrino interactions, the quark substructure of the nucleon, and production of the first quantitative evidence for the validity of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)." | |
| 1998 | Edwin Southern | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his development of the method of transferring spatial patterns of DNA fragments from the electrophoretic separation medium to membranes on which the hybridisation could occur known as southern blotting, now a fundamental technique in molecular biology." | |
| 1998 | Ricardo Miledi | Neuroscience | "In recognition of his many important discoveries in cellular and molecular physiology which have greatly advanced our knowledge of synaptic transmission in the nervous system and of long-term effects of trophic interaction between neurones and effector cells." | |
| 1998 | Donald Charlton Bradley | Chemistry | "In recognition of his pioneering work on the molecular chemistry of metal-alkoxides and metal-amides, their synthesis, structure and bonding, and for his studies of their conversions to metal-oxides and metal-nitrides, processes which now find common place applications in materials science, especially in the fields of microelectronics and chemical vapour deposition." | |
| 1999 | John Frank Davidson | Chemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished work over many years in chemical engineering, including fluid flow, process dynamics, gas absorption and fluidization technology which has been concerned with real problems of industrial significance." | |
| 1999 | Patrick David Wall | Neuroscience | "In recognition of his fundamental contributions to our knowledge of the somatosensory system and, in particular, pain mechanisms, where his insights led to the therapeutic use of electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves, dorsal columns of the spinal cord, and brain stem for the control of pain, methods that are now in widespread use." | |
| 1999 | Archibald Howie | Physics | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development and application of electron microscopy of materials, and to the underlying theories of electron scattering, in particular his extensive contributions to inelastic scattering theory, his systematic high resolution microscope studies of amorphous materials, his introduction of the concept of coherence volume for hollow cone dark field imaging and his pioneering use of a high angle annular dark field detector to image small catalyst particles." | |
| 2000 | Timothy Berners-Lee | Computer science | "In recognition of his invention and subsequent development of the World Wide Web, designing the universal resource locator (URL), an addressing system to give each Web page a unique location and the two protocols HTTP and HTML." | |
| 2000 | Geoffrey Burnstock | Neuroscience | "In recognition of his development of new hypotheses challenging the accepted views on autonomic neurotransmission, leading to new advances in the understanding of purinergic neurotransmission." | |
| 2000 | Keith Usherwood Ingold | Chemistry | "In recognition of his work in elucidating the mechanism of reactions involving free radicals." | |
| 2001 | Richard Gardner | Biology | "In recognition of his pioneering work on microsurgery of the mouse blastocyst which laid the foundation for major advances in biological knowledge, both in developmental biology and in understanding of gene function." | |
| 2001 | Gabriel Horn | Biology | "In recognition of his work on the neurobiological mechanisms of behavioural imprinting, embracing molecular, cellular, anatomical, electrophysiological and ethological approaches to learning and memory." | |
| 2001 | Sam Edwards | Physics | "In recognition of his enormous influence across a wide spectrum of physical sciences, particularly theoretical condensed matter physics." | |
| 2002 | Richard Peto | Mathematics | "In recognition of his outstanding work on the epidemiology of smoking and chronic disease." | |
| 2002 | Suzanne Cory | Genetics | "In recognition of her distinguished work on the molecular basis of cancer. She pioneered the use of transgenic mice to elucidate the role of various oncogenes in lymphoid malignancies." | |
| 2002 | Ray Freeman | Chemistry | "In recognition of his seminal contributions to the development and understanding of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods" | |
| 2003 | John Skehel | Virology | "In recognition of his pioneering research into virology. His studies and discoveries in the mechanisms by which influenza virus binds to the host cell, and in virus-cell membrane fusion have had a fundamental impact on the field." | |
| 2003 | Kenneth Johnson | Engineering | "In recognition of his outstanding work in the field of contact mechanics. His work his characterised by elegant experiments, skilful analyses and insightful explanations of observed phenomena." | |
| 2003 | Nicholas Shackleton | Geology | "in recognition of his seminal contributions to the fields of paleoceanography and geochemistry." | |
| 2004 | James Black | Chemistry | "In recognition of his work in both academia and industry, pioneering a new era of rational drug discovery." | |
| 2004 | Alec Jeffreys | Genetics | "In recognition of his outstanding discoveries and inventions which have had major impacts on large areas of genetics. " | |
| 2004 | Jack Lewis | Chemistry | "In recognition of his distinguished career in the field of inorganic chemistry over the last 50 years, mainly in the area of the transition elements." | |
| 2005 | Michael Pepper | Physics | "In recognition of his work which has had the highest level of influence in condensed matter physics and has resulted in the creation of the modern field of semiconductor nanostructures." | |
| 2005 | Anthony Pawson | Biology | "In recognition of his discoveries which have revealed the principles underlying cell signalling, and have been pivotal in understanding pathological states such as cancer." | |
| 2005 | Michael Fisher | Physics | "In recognition of his seminal contributions to wetting transitions, dislocation melting and criticality of ionic solutions and many other topics in Statistical Mechanics." | |
| 2006 | David Baulcombe | Botany | "In recognition of his profoundly significant recent discoveries for not only plants but for all of biology and for medicine." | |
| 2006 | Tim Hunt | Biochemistry | "discovering a key aspect of cell cycle control, the protein cyclin which is a component of cyclin dependent kinases, demonstrating his ability to grasp the significance of the result outside his immediate sphere of interest." | |
| 2006 | John Pendry | Physics | "In recognition of his seminal contributions in surface sciences, disordered systems, photonics and most recently in metamaterials and the concept of the perfect lens." | |
| 2007 | Tomas Lindahl | Medicine | "making fundamental contributions to our understanding of DNA repair. His achievements stand out for their great originality, breadth and lasting influence." | |
| 2007 | Cyril Hilsum | Physics | "In recognition of his many outstanding contributions and for continuing to use his prodigious talents on behalf of industry, government and academy to this day." | |
| 2007 | James Feast | Chemistry | "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to chemical synthesis with far reaching implications, particularly for the field of functional polymeric materials." | |
| 2008 | Robert Hedges | Archaeology | "In recognition of his contribution to the rapid development of accelerator mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating techniques." | |
| 2008 | Philip Cohen | Biochemistry | "In recognition of his major contribution to our understanding of the role of protein phosphorylation in cell regulation." | |
| 2008 | Alan Fersht | Chemistry | "In recognition of his seminal work in protein engineering, which he has developed into a fundamental tool in enzyme analysis and the problem of protein folding." | |
| 2009 | Chintamani Rao | Chemistry | "For his highly innovative and diverse contributions to solid-state and materials chemistry." | |
| 2009 | Ronald Laskey | Molecular Biology | "For his pivotal contributions to our understanding of the control of DNA replication and nuclear protein transport, which has led to a novel screening method for cancer diagnosis." | |
| 2009 | Chris Dobson | Biophysics | "For his outstanding contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms of protein folding and mis-folding, and the implications for disease." | |
| 2010 | Peter Knight | Quantum optics | "for his pioneering research and international leadership in the field of quantum optics and quantum information science." | |
| 2010 | Azim Surani | Biology | "for his pivotal contributions to the understanding of early mammalian development." | |
| 2010 | Allen Hill | Chemistry | "for his pioneering work on protein electrochemistry, which revolutionised the diagnostic testing of glucose and many other bioelectrochemical assays." | |
| 2011 | Steven Ley | Chemistry | "for his pioneering research in organic chemistry and outstanding contributions to the methodology of synthesis." | |
| 2011 | Robin Holliday | Molecular Biology | "for his highly influential discoveries of the 'Holliday junction' structure in meiotic recombination and the function of DNA methylation at CG base pairs." | |
| 2011 | Gregory Winter | Biophysics | "for his pioneering work in protein engineering and therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, and his contributions as an inventor and entrepreneur." | |
| 2012 | Tom Kibble | Physics | "for his theories of symmetry-breaking in quantum field theory, with diverse applications to elementary particle masses, vortex formation in Helium 3 and structure formation in the early universe." | |
| 2012 | Kenneth Murray | Biology | "for his crucial contributions to the development of genetic engineering, to biotechnology and to the study of hepatitis viruses." | |
| 2012 | Andrew Holmes | Chemistry | "for his outstanding contributions to chemical synthesis at the interface between materials and biology and pioneering the field of organic electronic materials." | |
| 2013 | Rodney Baxter | Physics | "for his remarkable exact solutions of fundamental models in statistical mechanics." | |
| 2013 | Walter Bodmer | Genetics | "for seminal contributions to population genetics, gene mapping and understanding of familial genetic disease." | |
| 2013 | Peter Wells | Medical Physics | "for pioneering the application of the physical and engineering sciences to the development of ultrasonics as a diagnostic and surgical tool which has revolutionised clinical practice." | |
| 2014 | Terence Tao | Mathematics | "for his many deep and varied contributions to mathematics, including harmonic analysis, prime number theory, partial differential equations, combinatorics, computer science, statistics, representation theory, and much more." | |
| 2014 | Tony Hunter | Biochemistry | "for his discovery of tyrosine phosphorylation by src protein kinase that revolutionised our understanding of cellular signal transduction." | |
| 2014 | Howard Morris | Biophysics | "for his pioneering work in biomolecular mass spectrometry including strategy and instrument design and for outstanding entrepreneurship in biopharmaceutical characterisation." | |
| 2015 | Jocelyn Bell Burnell | Astronomy | "for her pivotal contribution in observing, analysing & understanding pulsars, one of the most important astronomical discoveries of the 20th century." | |
| 2015 | Elizabeth Blackburn | Biology | "for her work on the prediction and discovery of telomerase and the role of telomeres in protecting and maintaining the genome." | |
| 2015 | Christopher Llewellyn Smith | Physics | "for his major contributions to the development of the Standard Model, particularly his success in making the case for the building the LHC." | |
| 2016 | John Meurig Thomas | Chemistry | "for his pioneering work within catalytic chemistry, in particular on single-site heterogeneous catalysts, which have had a major impact on green chemistry, clean technology and sustainability." | |
| 2016 | Elizabeth Robertson | Biology | "for her innovative work within the field of mouse embryology and development, establishing the pathways involved in early body planning of the mammalian embryo." | |
| 2016 | John Goodby | Material Sciences | "for his major advances and discoveries of new forms of matter and materials, in particular the development of chiral liquid crystals." | |
| 2017 | Paul Corkum | Physics | "for his major contributions to laser physics and the development of the field of attosecond science." | |
| 2017 | Peter Raymond Grant Rosemary Grant | Biology | "for their research on the ecology and evolution of Darwin's finches on the Galapagos, demonstrating that natural selection occurs frequently and that evolution is rapid as a result." | |
| 2017 | Melvyn Greaves | Medicine | "for his research on surface antigens of normal and leukaemic cells that defined the cellular lineage of different leukaemias and led to procedures now in routine clinical use." | |
| 2018 | Stephen Sparks | Geology | "for his contributions to our understanding of volcanoes, including evaluating their risks and mitigating their hazards." | |
| 2018 | Lewis Wolpert | Biology | "for his research on morphogenesis and pattern formation that led to the concept of positional information in embryonic development." | |
| 2018 | Shankar Balasubramanian David Klenerman | Medicine | "for their co-development of DNA sequencing techniques transforming biology and genomic medicine." | |
| 2019 | Carol Robinson | Biology | "for her pioneering work on structural biology improving the understanding of proteins their interactions and functional regulation." | |
| 2019 | Michel Goedert | Biology | "for identifying and characterising assembled tau protein and alpha-synuclein and showing that they form the inclusions of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases." | |
| 2019 | Ann Dowling | Physics | "for her leading research on the reduction of combustion, aerodynamic noise and the design of aircraft, and her distinguished services to engineering." | |
| 2020 | Herbert Huppert | Geophysics | "for his research in fluid mechanics. As an applied mathematician he has consistently developed highly original analysis of key natural and industrial processes." | |
| 2020 | Caroline Dean | Biology | "for elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying seasonal timing in plants, thus discovering fundamental processes of plant developmental timing and the epigenetic basis of vernalization." | |
| 2020 | Ian Shanks | Engineering | "for extending knowledge of liquid crystals and applying this successfully to invent novel LCDs. He developed commercial diabetes test strips, which have revolutionised the control and therefore the lives of diabetics worldwide.." | |
| 2021 | Colin Humphreys | Materials Science | "for excelling in basic and applied science, university-industry collaboration, technology development and transfer, academic leadership, promotion of public understanding of science, and advising on science to public bodies." | |
| 2021 | Dennis Lo | Biology | "for the discovery of foetal DNA in maternal plasma, developing non-invasive prenatal testing, and making foundational contributions for other types of liquid biopsies. He has made a major impact on pre-natal diagnosis. | |
| 2021 | Michael Green | String Theory | "for crucial and influential contributions to the development of string theory over a long period, including the discovery of anomaly cancellation." | |
| 2022 | Richard Ellis | Astronomy | "for motivating numerous advances in telescopes and instrumentation, and exploited these facilities to revolutionise the understanding of cosmological evolution." | |
| 2022 | Stephen C. West | Biology | "for discovering and determining the function of the key enzymes that are essential for recombination, repair and the maintenance of genomes." | |
| 2022 | Geoffrey Hinton | Computer Sciences | "for pioneering work on algorithms that learn distributed representations in artificial neural networks and their application to speech and vision, leading to a transformation of the international information technology industry." | |
| 2023 | Antony Hoare | Computer Sciences | "for groundbreaking contributions that have revolutionised the computer programming field, the development of "Hoare logic" that has paved the way for provably correct code, providing a robust framework for ensuring software reliability." | |
| 2023 | Herman Waldmann | Immunology | "for pioneering monoclonal antibodies for human therapy." | |
| 2023 | Patrick Vallance Christopher Whitty | Pharmacology Epidemiology | "for their pivotal role in ensuring that the UK's response to the covid-19 pandemic has benefitted from the very best science and evidence." | |
| 2024 | Tejinder Virdee | Physics | "for extraordinary leadership and profound impact on all phases of the monumental CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, including the crucial discovery of the Higgs boson through its decays to two photons." | |
| 2024 | Michael Stratton | Medicine | "for his foundational contributions to cancer genomics, the discovery of cancer genes and the identification of mutational signatures, which have transformed our understanding of cancer and somatic mutation." | |
| 2024 | Ravinder Maini Marc Feldmann | Medicine | "for inventing anti-TNF therapy to treat rheumatoid arthritis, bringing their therapeutic from bench to bedside in one of the biggest success stories in modern medicine, and laying the groundwork for biologics to improve the quality of life for millions of people." | |