Magellanic Premium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Magellanic Premium, also known as the Magellanic Gold Medal and Magellanic Prize is awarded for major contributions in the field of navigation (whether by sea, air, or in space), astronomy, or natural philosophy.
The Premium was established in 1786 through a grant by the grandson of Ferdinand Magellan, Jean-Hyacynthe Magellan. Benjamin Franklin, then President of the American Philosophical Society, accepted it and established the terms of reference under which it would be given.
In the 217 years since Magellan offered the Premium, the APS has awarded on only 32 occasions (as of 2007): twelve for navigation, twelve for natural philosophy, and eight for astronomy. This highly prestigious award arguably serves as a useful companion to the Nobel Prize in that the latter is not awarded directly in any of these fields.
[edit] Recipients of the Magellanic Premium
- 1790 Francis Hopkinson
- 1792 Robert Patterson and William Thornton
- 1794 Nicholas Collin
- 1804 William Mugford and Benjamin Smith Barton
- 1807 John Garnett
- 1809 James Humphreys
- 1820 Josiah Chapman
- 1823 James Ewing
- 1825 Charles D. Brodie
- 1836 James P. Espy
- 1864 Pliny Earle Chase
- 1887 Lewis M. Haupt
- 1922 Paul R. Heyl and Lyman James Briggs
- 1952 James G. Baker
- 1953 Philip Van Horn Weems
- 1956 Karl von Frisch
- 1959 Charles Stark Draper
- 1960 Stuart William Seeley
- 1961 Edward L. Beach, Jr.
- 1966 W.H. Pickering
- 1971 Paul M. Muller and William J. Sjogren
- 1975 Robert Herman and Ralph A. Alpher
- 1980 Martin Lindauer
- 1984 J. Frank Jordon
- 1988 George C. Weiffenbach and William H. Guier
- 1990 Joseph H. Taylor
- 1992 Edward C. Stone
- 1994 Gordon H. Pettengill
- 1997 Bradford W. Parkinson and Roger Easton
- 2000 S. Jocelyn Bell Burnell
- 2002 Wendy Freedman
- 2004 John E. Carlstrom
