Benjamin Franklin Medal (Royal Society of Arts)

Benjamin Franklin Medal (Royal Society of Arts)
The Royal Society of Arts Benjamin Franklin Medal was instituted in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership to the Royal Society of Arts.
The medal is conferred by the RSA on individuals, groups, and organisations who have made profound efforts to forward Anglo-American understanding in areas closely linked to the RSA's agenda. It is also awarded to recognise those that have made a significant contribution to global affairs through co-operation and collaboration between the United Kingdom and the United States.
The medal is awarded annually, alternately to citizens of the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Benjamin Franklin Medal was designed by Christopher Ironside OBE, in 1956.
Medalists
1957 Professor Frederic Calland Williams OBE DSc MIEE FRS, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Manchester
1958 Peter Ustinov, actor, producer, director, playwright
1959 George Horatio Nelson MA MICE MIMechE MIEE, managing director of The English Electric Company Limited
1960 Robert Nicholson, FSIA exhibition and interior designer
1961 Alick Dick, chairman and managing director of Standard-Triumph International Limited
1962 The Lord Rootes GBE, joint founder of the Rootes Group
1963 John Hay Whitney, American diplomatist and publisher
1964 Sir Evelyn Wrench KCMG, founder of the English-Speaking Union and of the Overseas League
1965 Paul Mellon, American business and foundation executive
1966 Sir Denis Brogan D-es Lettres LLD, writer on United States affairs
1967 Dr. Detlev Bronk, president of the Rockefeller University
1968 Peter Wilson, chairman of Sotheby's
1969 Dr. Louis Booker Wright PhD Dlitt LHD, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC
1970 Sir Denning Pearson, chief executive and chairman of Rolls-Royce Limited
1971 David Bruce, diplomat
1972 Sir William Walton OM, composer
1973 Alistair Cooke, writer and journalist
1974 Dame Margot Fonteyn DBE, prima ballerina
1975 Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis, English scholar
1976 Rt Hon Harold Macmillan, statesman and publisher
1977 J. William Fulbright, former United States Senator for Arkansas
1978 Dr. Ivor Armstrong Richards, professor emeritus of Harvard University
1979 Professor Henry-Russell Hitchcock, writer and lecturer on architectural history
1980 Sir Bernard Lovell OBE FRS, professor of radio astronomy, University of Manchester and then-director of Jodrell Bank Observatory
1981 Lincoln Kirstein, director, School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet Company
1982 The Lord Sherfield GCB GCMG Diplomat
1983 Dr. Lewis Mumford, writer and teacher on town and country planning
1984 The Lord Gordon Richardson of Duntisbourne, retired Governor of the Bank of England
1985 Harry L. Hansen, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration
1986 Sir David Wills CBE TD DL, former chairman of the Ditchley Foundation
1987 Kingman Brewster, diplomat
1988 Professor Esmond Wright, English scholar
1989 Sam Wanamaker, actor, director and founder of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
1990 Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster
1991 Edward Streator, diplomat
1993 Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, architects
1994 Sir John Templeton, financial analyst and philanthropist
1995 The Honorable Raymond G. H. Seitz, diplomat
1996 Sir David Puttnam, film producer
1997 William R. Hewlett, co-founder and director emeritus of Hewlett-Packard Company
1998 Sir Alex Trotman, chairman and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company
1999 Senator George J. Mitchell, special counsel and chairman of the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland
2000 Dame Judi Dench, actress
2001 Ambassador Philip Lader, former US Ambassador to the Court of St James's
2002 Dame Marjorie Scardino, chief executive officer of Pearson PLC
2003 General Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State
2004 Jonathan Ive, vice-president of design, Apple Computer
2005 Dr. Amory Lovins, chief executive officer of Rocky Mountain Institute
2008 Sir Ken Robinson, author, educator
2009 Professor Elizabeth Gould, psychologist, UCLA
2010 Professor Jonathan Israel, School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.
2011 Professor Lawrence W. Sherman, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge.
2013 Walter Isaacson, thought leader and author, CEO of the Aspen Institute
2015 Chris Anderson, entrepreneur and the curator of TED
2016 Wendy Kopp, CEO and co-founder of Teach For All
2018 Herbie Hancock, musician/composer
References
Awards established in 1956
Royal Society of Arts
Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom
Lists of award winners
1956 establishments in the United Kingdom