Darwin–Wallace Medal facts for kids
The Darwin–Wallace Medal is a special award from the Linnean Society of London. It celebrates big discoveries in evolutionary biology, which is the study of how living things change over time.
This medal was first given out in 1908. That year marked 50 years since two important scientists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, shared their ideas about evolution. They presented their scientific papers to the Linnean Society of London on July 1, 1858.
Alfred Russel Wallace was one of the first people to receive this medal. His medal was made of gold, which was very special. The other six first winners received silver medals.
In 2008, the Linnean Society decided that studying evolution is still very important. So, they announced that the medal would be given out every year, starting in 2010.
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Who Received the Medal?
The Darwin–Wallace Medal has been given to many amazing scientists over the years. Here are some of the people who have received this important award.
1908 Medal Winners
The very first Darwin–Wallace Medal was given in 1908. Alfred Russel Wallace received a gold medal. Six other respected scientists received silver medals:
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- August Weismann
- Ernst Haeckel
- Francis Galton
- E. Ray Lankester
- Eduard Strasburger
1958 Medal Winners
Fifty years later, in 1958, twenty silver medals were awarded to scientists who had made great contributions to evolutionary biology:
- Edgar Anderson
- E. Pavlovsky
- Maurice Caullery
- Bernhard Rensch
- Ronald A. Fisher
- G. Gaylord Simpson
- C. R. Florin
- Carl Skottsberg
- Roger Heim
- H. Hamshaw Thomas
- J. B. S. Haldane
- Erik Stensiö
- John Hutchinson
- Göte Turesson
- Julian Huxley
- Victor van Straelen
- Ernst Mayr
- D. M. S. Watson
- H. J. Muller
- John Christopher Willis (awarded after his death)
2008 Medal Winners
In 2008, thirteen silver medals were given out. Two of these were awarded to scientists after they had passed away:
- Nick Barton
- M. W. Chase
- Bryan Clarke
- Joseph Felsenstein
- Stephen Jay Gould (awarded after his death)
- Peter R. Grant
- Rosemary Grant
- James Mallet
- Lynn Margulis
- John Maynard Smith (awarded after his death)
- Mohamed Noor
- H. Allen Orr
- Linda Partridge
Medal Winners Since 2010
Since 2010, the Darwin–Wallace Medal has been awarded every year. Here are the scientists who have received it:
- Brian Charlesworth (2010)
- James A. Lake (2011)
- Loren H. Rieseberg (2012)
- Godfrey Hewitt (2013)
- Dolph Schluter (2014)
- Roger Butlin (2015)
- Pamela S. Soltis and Douglas E. Soltis (2016)
- John N. Thompson (2017)
- Josephine Pemberton (2018)
- David Reich and Svante Pääbo (2019)
- Spencer Barrett (2020)
- Sarah Otto (2021)
- David Jablonski (2022)
- Ziheng Yang (2023)
- Peter Crane (2024)
- Trudy Mackay (2025)
See also
In Spanish: Medalla Darwin-Wallace para niños
- List of biology awards
