Albert Medal (Royal Society of Arts)
1864: KCB FRS 'for his great services to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, in the creation of the penny postage, and for his other reforms in the postal system of this country, the benefits of which have, however, not been confined to this country, but have extended over the civilised world'
Sir Rowland Hill
1865: The Emperor of the French () 'for distinguished merit in promoting, in many ways, by his personal exertions, the international progress of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the proofs of which are afforded by his judicious patronage of Art, his enlightened commercial policy, and especially by the abolition of passports in favour of British subjects'
Napoleon III
1866: DCL FRS 'for his discoveries in electricity, magnetism, and chemistry, which in their relation to the industries of the world have so largely promoted Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce'
Michael Faraday
1867: and Charles Wheatstone FRS 'in recognition of their joint labours in establishing the first electric telegraphy'
William Fothergill Cooke
1868: LLD FRS 'for the invention and manufacture of instruments of measurement and uniform standards by which the production of machinery has been brought to a state of perfection hitherto unapproached to the great advancement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce'
Joseph Whitworth
1869: Associate of the Institute of France ForMembRS Chevalier of the Legion of Honour etc. 'for his numerous valuable researchers and writings, which have contributed most importantly to the development of food economy and agriculture,[2] to the advancement of chemical science, and to the benefits derived from that science by Arts, Manufactures and Commerce'
Baron Justus von Liebig
1870: Member of Institute of France HonGCSI 'for services rendered to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, by the realisation of Suez Canal'.
Ferdinand, Viscount de Lesseps
1871: 'for his important services in promoting Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, especially in aiding the establishment and development of International Exhibitions, the Department of Science and Art, and the South Kensington Museum'
Henry Cole
1872: FRS 'for the eminent services rendered by him to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, in developing the manufacture of steel
Henry Bessemer
1873: ForMembRS Member of the Institute of France 'for his chemical researches, especially in reference to saponification, dyeing, agriculture, and natural history, which for more than half a century have exercised a wide influence on the industrial arts of the world'
Michel Eugène Chevreul
1874: DCL FRS 'for his researches in connection with the laws of heat, and the practical applications of them to furnaces used in the Arts; and for his improvements in the manufacture of iron; and generally for the services rendered by him in connection with the economisation of fuel in its various applications to Manufactures and the Arts'
Carl Wilhelm Siemens
1875: 'the distinguished French statesman, who, by his writings and persistent exertions, extending over many years, has rendered essential services in promoting Arts, Manufactures and Commerce'
Michel Chevalier
1876: KCB FRS, Astronomer Royal 'for eminent services rendered to Commerce by his researches in nautical astronomy and in magnetism, and by his improvements in the application of the mariner's compass to the navigation of iron ships
Sir George Biddell Airy
1877: ForMembRS Member of the Institute of France 'the distinguished chemist, whose researchers have excised a very material influence on the advancement of the Industrial Arts'
Jean-Baptiste Dumas
1878: (later The Lord Armstrong) CB DCL FRS 'because of his distinction as an engineer and as a scientific man, and because by the development of the transmission of power – hydraulically – due to his constant efforts, extending over many years, the manufactures of this country have been greatly aided, and mechanical power beneficially substituted for most laborious and injurious manual labour'
William Armstrong
1879: (later The Lord Kelvin) OM LLD DCL FRS 'on account of the signal service rendered to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, by his electrical researches, especially with reference to the transmission of telegraphic messages over ocean cables'
William Thomson
1880: LLD DCL FRS 'for having established, after most laborious research, the true relation between heat, electricity and mechanical work, thus affording to the engineer a sure guide in the application of science to industrial pursuits'
James Prescott Joule
1881: MD LLD FRS, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Berlin 'for eminent services rendered to the Industrial Arts by his investigations in organic chemistry, and for his successful labour in promoting the cultivation of chemical education and research in England'[2]
August Wilhelm von Hofmann
1882: Member of the Institute of France ForMembRS 'for his researches in connection with fermentation, the preservation of wines, and the propagation of zymotic diseases in silkworms and domestic animals, whereby the arts of wine making, silk production and agriculture have been greatly benefited'
Louis Pasteur
1883: KCSI CB MD DCL LLD FRS 'for the eminent services which, as a botanist and scientific traveller, and as Director of the National Botanical Department, he has rendered to the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce by promoting an accurate knowledge of the floras and economic vegetable products of our several colonies and dependencies of the Empire'
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
1884: Captain 'the distinguished American engineer, whose works have been of such great service in improving the water communications of North America, and have thereby rendered valuable aid to the commerce of the world'
James Buchanan Eads
1885: 'in recognition of the impulse given by him to the production of artistic pottery in this country'
Henry Doulton
1886: (later The Lord Masham) 'for the services he has rendered to the textile industries, especially by the substitution of mechanical wool combing for hand combing, and by the introduction and development of a new industry – the utilisation of waste silk'
Samuel Lister
1887: The Queen () 'in commemoration of the progress of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce throughout the Empire during the fifty years of her reign'
Queen Victoria
1888: Professor ForMembRS 'in recognition of the value of his researches in various branches of science and of their practical results upon music, painting and the useful arts'
Hermann von Helmholtz
1889: LLD FRS 'for his achievements in promoting the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, though the worldwide influence which his researches and writings have had upon the progress of the science and practice of metallurgy'
John Percy
1890: FRS 'for his discovery of the method of obtaining colouring matter from coal tar, a discovery which led to the establishment of a new and important industry, and to the utilisation of large quantities of a previously worthless material'
William Henry Perkin
1891: Kt KCB DCL DSc FRS 'in recognition of the manner in which he has promoted several important classes of the Arts and Manufactures by the application of Chemical Science, and especially by his researches in the manufacture of iron and of steel, and also in acknowledgement of the great services he has rendered to the State in the provision of improved war material, and as Chemist to the War Department'
Sir Frederick Abel
1892: 'in recognition of the merits of his numerous and valuable inventions, especially his improvements in telegraphy, in telephony, and in electric lighting, and for his discovery of a means of reproducing vocal sounds by the phonograph'
Thomas Edison
1893: Bt FRS and Sir Henry Gilbert PhD FRS 'for their joint services to scientific agriculture, and notably for the researches which, throughout a period of fifty years, have been carried on by them at the Experimental Farm, Rothamsted'
Sir John Bennet Lawes
1894: Bt FRS 'for the discovery and establishment of the antiseptic method of treating wounds and injuries by which not only has the art of surgery been greatly promoted, and human life saved in all parts of the world, but extensive industries have been created for the supply of materials required for carrying the treatment into effect.'
Sir Joseph Lister
1895: Bt FRS 'in recognition of the services he has rendered to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, by his metallurgical researches and the resulting development of the iron and steel industries'
Sir Lowthian Bell
1896: Professor FRS 'in recognition of the services he has rendered to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, by his numerous inventions in electricity and magnetism, especially the printing telegraph and the microphone'
David Edward Hughes
1897: FRS 'for the services he has rendered to the United Kingdom by affording to engineers engaged in the water supply and the sewage of towns, a trustworthy basis for their work, by establishing and carrying on during nearly forty years systematic observations (now at over 3000 stations) of the rainfall of the British Isles, and by recording, tabulating and graphically indicating the results of these observations in the annual volumes published by himself'
George James Symons
1898: Professor MD ForMembRS 'in recognition of his numerous and most valuable applications of Chemistry and Physics to the Arts and Manufactures'[2]
Robert Bunsen
1899: FRS 'for his extensive and laborious researches in chemistry and in physics, researches which have in many instances developed into useful practical applications in the Arts and Manufactures'
Sir William Crookes
1900: FRS 'for the discovery and practical demonstration of the indefinite increase of the magnetic and electric forces from quantities indefinitely small, a discovery now used in all dynamo machines; and for its application to the production of the electric search-light, and to the electro-deposition of metals from their solutions'
Henry Wilde
1901: The King () 'in recognition of the aid rendered by His Majesty to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, during thirty-eight years' presidency of the Society of Arts, by undertaking the direction of important exhibitions in this country and the executive control of British representation at International Exhibitions abroad, and also by many other services to the cause of British Industry'
Edward VII
1902: Professor 'for his invention of the Telephone'
Alexander Graham Bell
1903: Kt KCMG 'in recognition of his services, extending over forty-four years, as Engineer to the International Commission of the Danube, which have resulted in the opening up of the navigation of that river to ships of all nations, and of his similar services, extending over twenty years, as British Commissioner on the International Technical Commission of the Suez Canal'
Sir Charles Augustus Hartley
1904: 'in recognition of the services he has rendered to Art and Industry by awakening popular interest in Decorative Art and Craftsmanship, and by promoting the recognition of English Art in the form most material to the commercial prosperity of the country'
Walter Crane
1905: OM DCL ScD FRS 'in recognition of the influence which his researches, directed to the increase of scientific knowledge, have had upon industrial progress, by facilitating amongst other scientific applications, the provision of accurate electrical standards, the production of improved lenses and the development of apparatus for Sound Signaling at Sea'
The Lord Rayleigh
1906: MA DSc FRS 'for the important part he took in the invention of the incandescent electric lamp, and for his invention of the carbon process of photographic printing'
Sir Joseph Swan
1907: GCB OM GCMG KCSI CIE PC FRS 'in recognition of his pre-eminent public services in Egypt, where he has 'imparted security to the relations of this country with the East, has established justice, restored order and prosperity, and, by the initiation of great works, has opened up new fields for enterprise'
The Earl of Cromer
1908: MA DSc LLD FRS 'for his investigations into the liquefaction of gases and the properties of matter at low temperatures, investigations which have resulted in the production of the lowest temperatures yet reached, the use of vacuum vessels for thermal isolation, and the application of cooled charcoal to the separation of gaseous mixtures and to the production of high vacua'
Sir James Dewar
1909: Bt KCB DSc DCL FRS 'in recognition of his long-continued and valuable researches into the nature and action of explosives, which have resulted in the greater development and improvement of modern ordnance'
Sir Andrew Noble
1910: 'for the discovery of Radium'
Marie Curie
1911: The Hon KCB LLD DSc FRS 'for his experimental researches into the laws governing the efficient action of steam in engines of the turbine type, and for his invention of the reaction type of steam turbine, and its practical application to the generation of electricity and other purposes'
Sir Charles Algernon Parsons
1912: GCMG GCVO LLD DCL FRS 'for his services in improving the railway communications, developing the resources, and promoting the commerce and industry of Canada and other parts of the British Empire'
The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal
1913: The King () 'for nine years President, and now Patron of the Society, in respectful recognition of His Majesty's untiring efforts to make himself personally acquainted with the social and economic condition of the various parts of his Dominions, and to promote the progress of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in the United Kingdom and throughout the British Empire'
George V
1914: Chevalier LLD DSc 'for his services in the development and practical application of wireless telegraphy'
Guglielmo Marconi
1915: Professor OM DSc LLD FRS 'for his researches in physics and chemistry, and their application to the advancement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce'
Sir J. J. Thomson
1916: Professor ForMemRS 'in recognition of the value of his investigations into the causes of immunity in infective diseases, which have led to important changes in medical practice, and to the establishment of principles certain to have a most beneficial influence on the improvement of public health'
Élie Metchnikoff
1917: 'in recognition of the value of the contributions of Wilbur and Orville Wright to the solution of the problem of mechanical flight'
Orville Wright
1918: CB ScD FRS 'for his services in the application of science to the industries of peace and war, by his work as Director of the National Physical Laboratory since 1899, and as Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics'
Sir Richard Glazebrook
1919: DSc LLD FRS 'in recognition of his work as the pioneer of wireless telegraphy'
Sir Oliver Lodge
1920: Professor 'whose optical inventions have rendered possible the reproduction of accurate metric standards, and have provided the means of carrying out measurements with a minute precision hitherto unobtainable'
Albert Abraham Michelson
1921: Professor FRS 'in recognition of his many valuable contributions to electrical science and its applications, and specially of his original invention of the thermionic valve, now so largely employed in wireless telegraphy and for other purposes'
John Ambrose Fleming
1922: KBE DSc LLD FRS 'in recognition of his important contributions, both theoretical and practical to the development of the internal combustion engine, who in its latter forms has rendered aerial navigation possible, and is also extensively employed in the motor car, and in the submarine and for many other purposes'
Sir Dugald Clerk
1923: Major-General Kt KCB DSc LLD FRCP FRS and Colonel Sir Ronald Ross KCB KCMG DSc LLD MD FRS FRCS 'in recognition of the eminent services they have rendered to the Economic Development of the World by their achievements in Biological Research and the Study of Tropical Diseases'
Sir David Bruce
1924: The Prince of Wales (later ) 'in recognition of Services rendered to the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce as President of the British Empire Exhibition, and by his visits to the Dominions and Colonies'
Edward VIII
1925: Lieut-Colonel CMG CIE ME LLD FRS 'for the application of Botany to the development of raw materials of the Empire'
Sir David Prain
1926: Professor Member of the Institute of France ForMembRS 'in recognition of his distinguished work in science and of the eminent services to industry rendered by his renowned researches in Physics and Chemistry, which laid the foundation of important industrial processes'
Paul Sabatier
1927: Kt GCVO CB PRA PRIBA FSA LLD 'for distinguished services to Architecture'
Sir Aston Webb
1928: OM LLD DSc FRS 'for his pioneer researches into the structure of matter'
Sir Ernest Rutherford
1929: KCB LLD FRS 'for his work in magnetism and his services to technical education'
Sir James Alfred Ewing
1930: Professor LLD DSc FRS 'for his discoveries in Chemistry and his services to Education'
Henry Edward Armstrong
1931: 'in grateful appreciation of his presidency of the Society since 1911'
The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
1932: RA 'for his services to decorative and commercial art'
Frank Brangwyn
1933: GCVO PRA 'for his encouragement of Art in Industry'
Sir William Llewellyn
1934: LLD DSc PRS 'for his researches in Biochemistry and the Constituents of Foods'
Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins
1935: Bt Kt DSc FRS 'for his researches in Metallurgy and his services to the Steel Industry'
Sir Robert Hadfield
1936: Bt KG GCB GCVO PC 'for the advancement of Commerce and Arts, especially in Lancashire'
The Earl of Derby
1937: OBE 'for services to industry, transport and medical science'
William Nuffield
1938: 'in recognition of Her Majesty's unremitting interest in arts and manufactures, to the great benefit of British industry and commerce'
Queen Mary
1939: KCSI KCIE DSc LLD FRS 'for services to the mineral industries'
Sir Thomas Henry Holland
1940: CBE 'for services to Industrial Art'
John Alexander Milne
1941: President 'in recognition of his pre-eminent services to humanity as the fearless and resolute champion of the ideals of freedom and individual liberty'
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1942: Field Marshal Rt Hon OM CH FRS 'Statesman. Soldier. Scientist. Philosopher'
Jan Smuts
1943: OBE DSc FRS 'for his researches and leadership in agricultural science and his services to husbandry in many lands'
Sir John Russell
1944: KCB DCL FRS 'for his achievements in applying scientific principles to aeronautics and his services to advanced Technical Education'
Sir Henry Tizard
1945: Rt Hon CH FRS MP 'whose foresight, faith and fortitude led free men to victory'
Winston Churchill
1947: MA DSc LLD FRS 'for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of organic chemistry'
Sir Robert Robinson
1948: KCVO RA 'for National Memories in Living Stone'
Sir William Reid Dick
1949: OM 'Builder of a lasting heritage for Britain'
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
1950: GBE KCB MA DSc ScD LLD FRS 'for outstanding services to science and industrial research'
Sir Edward Victor Appleton
1951: The King () 'in respectful recognition of His Majesty's lifelong concern for the progress of industry and for industrial welfare'
George VI
1952: Air Commodore KBE CB FRS 'for his development of the continuous-combustion gas turbine and jet propulsion'
Sir Frank Whittle
1953: Dr OM MD PRS 'for his outstanding contribution to neuro-physiology'
Edgar Adrian
1954: 'for his services to industrial design'
Sir Ambrose Heal
1955: Dr OM 'for his eminent service to music'
Ralph Vaughan Williams
1956: OM GBE MD FRS 'for eminent service to science, particularly physiology'
Sir Henry Hallett Dale
1957: Kt KBE FRS 'for his outstanding leadership in nuclear power development'
Sir Christopher Hinton
1958: The Queen () 'to mark Her Majesty's personal service to arts, manufactures and commerce, at home and abroad'
Elizabeth II
1959: CH 'for his distinguished encouragement of the arts and sciences'
Vincent Massey
1960: CBE
Sir Frederick Handley Page
1961: Professor DrIng FIAA HonRDI 'for his contributions to architectural and industrial design'
Walter Gropius
1962: CBE MC RDI FSIA 'for his services to industrial design'
Sir Sydney Gordon Russell
1963: 'for distinguished merit in promoting arts, manufactures and commerce'
The Duke of Edinburgh
1964: DBE 'for her services to the art of ballet'
Dame Ninette de Valois
1965: 'for his work in the application of automation to industry'
Sir Leon Bagrit
1966: CBE 'for his work in the invention and technical development of the hovercraft'
Christopher Cockerell
1967: 'for his contribution to the electronics industry'
Sir Edward Lewis
1968: 'in recognition of his contributions to the development of aeronautical science and engineering'
Sir Barnes Wallis
1969: 'for his contribution to publishing and education'
Sir Allen Lane
1970: CBE 'for his work in the conservation of wild life'
Peter Scott
1971: CBE 'for his outstanding services to music'
Sir William Glock
1972: OM CBE FRS 'for services to aeronautical science and aviation'
Sir George Edwards
1973: CBE 'for his contribution to poetry and the appreciation of architecture'
Sir John Betjeman
1974: 'in recognition for Her Majesty's outstanding support and patronage of the arts, manufactures & commerce'
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1975: CBE 'for his distinguished services to Britain's industrial heritage'
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
1976: The Lord Olivier (the actor ) 'for his service to the Drama and the British Theatre'
Laurence Olivier
1977: PC 'for his contribution to industrial progress in Britain'
The Lord Robens of Woldingham
1978: 'for his contributions to orthopaedic surgery'
Sir John Charnley
1979: CH 'for his services to music, and in particular his generous and practical encouragement of young musicians and of young people learning to appreciate music'
Sir Robert Mayer
1980: The Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth (the economist ) 'for her work in the field of international co-operation in economic development'
Barbara Ward
1981: KBE 'for his contribution to music'
Yehudi Menuhin
1982: 'for his contributions to technological and industrial innovation and management'
Akio Morita
1983: 'for his outstanding contributions to the aeronautical industry, and in particular to aeronautical engineering'
Sir Arnold Alexander Hall
1984: KCVO RIBA RDI 'for his contributions to art and design'
Sir Hugh Casson
1985: 'for increasing recognition of the need for new – and often young – enterprise in industry, and for multiplying support, both corporate and private, for the arts'
The Prince of Wales
1986: 'for his outstanding contribution to industrial innovation'
Sir Alastair Pilkington
1987: Dr FRS 'for his contributions to molecular and cell biology'
Francis Crick
1988: CMG QC 'for his outstanding contributions towards accord within the Commonwealth, and his promotion of the worldwide concept of or inseparable humanity'
Sir Shridath Ramphal
1989: 'for his outstanding contributions in the fields of business and the arts'
The Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover
1990: Dr 'for his outstanding contribution he has made to both the arts and science and the way he has brought both to a larger audience'
Jonathan Miller
1991: PC 'for her distinguished contribution to public life in the spheres of industrial relations and the development of the principles of human resources management in industry'[3]
The Baroness Seear
1992: 'for his impact and achievement in a multiplicity of fields, especially education, consumer affairs and social services'
The Lord Young of Dartington
1993: CBE 'for his contribution to the arts, manufactures and commerce as a businessman, publisher and philanthropist'
Paul Hamlyn
1994: OBE 'for his charitable enterprise founded on his achievements as a financial analyst'
Sir Ernest Hall
1995: 'for his outstanding contribution to business and to corporate governance'
Sir Adrian Cadbury
1996: KCB CBE FBA 'for his contribution to social sciences and commitment to education, music and the arts'
Sir Claus Moser
1997: CBE 'for his outstanding contribution as a leading conductor and champion or orchestral involvement in a broad programme of education and community activity'[4]
Sir Simon Rattle
1998: DBE 'in recognition of her national and international influence on the fields of education, ethics, human fertility, environmental issues and philosophy'
The Baroness Warnock
1999: Professor CH CBE FRS 'for making physics more accessible, understandable and exciting and opening the subject to a wider audience through his books and television programmes'[5]
Stephen Hawking
2000: 'for her many years of enthusiastically promoting and encouraging arts, manufactures and commerce in her visit programme and her dedicated work for charities.
The Princess Royal
2001: 'for her work as the main architect of the Global Compact on Corporate Social Responsibility.'
Mary Robinson
2002: OBE 'for his outstanding contribution to the World Wide Web.'
Tim Berners-Lee
2003: CBE 'for developing the Eden Project which has broken new boundaries in tourism, ecology, education, enterprise and development partnership.'
Tim Smit
2004: CBE 'for meeting the RSA manifesto challenge to encourage enterprise'
Karan Bilimoria
2005: Dr 'for awaking the world to the environmental challenge'
Gro Harlem Brundtland
2010: , contemporary visual artist 'for creating art that encourages public responses and creativity'.
Jeremy Deller
2011: , of Ciudad Saludable, a sustainable development organisation based in Peru.
Albina Ruiz
2014: Jos de Blok of , for 'a transformational new model of community health care.'
Buurtzorg Nederland
2015: OBE, of Timpson, 'for successfully uniting the commercial and social benefit aspects of business'
James Timpson
2016: , human rights campaigner for 'tireless campaigning on human rights & social equality'[9]
Peter Tatchell
2018: Neil Jameson of , 'for services to community organising for the common good'
Citizens UK
2021: Prof of University of Oxford for 'collaborative innovation for the global common good'[12]