The John Thackray Medal 2016
Instituted in 2000 to commemorate the life and work of John Thackray, Past President of the Society, this medal is awarded for a significant achievement in the preceding three years in the history of those areas of interest to the Society, that is the biological and earth sciences in the broadest sense.
All SHNH members in good standing are invited to make nominations for the 2016 award using the form below. Nominations should be sent to the Honorary Secretary, with an accompanying letter.
The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2016.
Nominations must indicate the item and the producer to be nominated and include the name and contact details of the person submitting the nomination. Please include a brief statement on the nature of the significant achievement involved and describe how the Prize Committee can obtain supporting evidence, such as publication details or photographs of exhibitions, etc. The Committee may ask for the loan of such evidence to support the Committee in its discussions.
Rules governing The John Thackray Medal
16.2 John Thackray Medal
- (a) Individuals or groups of individuals demonstrating significant achievement in the previous three years in the field of the history and/or bibliography of natural history may be awarded the John Thackray Medal.
- (b) Significant achievement may be recognised by the completion of a major piece of critical research or scholarship.
- (c) The Council will call for nominations annually by issuing a nomination form that will indicate a closing date.
- (d) All the nominations (which may include self-nominations) will be reviewed by a Committee appointed by the Council of the Society. The decision of the Council as to the recipient of the award is final.
- (e) The award of the John Thackray Medal shall take place at a General Meeting of the Society. All awards of this medal shall be reported to the membership in a timely fashion.
- (f) Normally only one medal, individual or institutional, will be made in any one year but exceptionally a second award may be made if the Committee and Council think fit.
- (g) The Council reserves the right not to make an award in any given year if it is judged that no submission is of sufficient merit.
John Thackray Medal Winners
- 2014: Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology by E. C. Dickinson, L.K. Overstreet, R. J. Dowsett and M. D. Bruce. (Aves Press, 2011)
- 2013: Alexandra Cook for her publication Jean-Jacques Rousseau and botany: the salutary science. (The Voltaire Foundation, 2012).
- 2012: John Ray’s Cambridge Catalogue (1660), translated and edited by Philip H. Oswald and Chris D. Preston. (Ray Society, 2011). ISBN 978-0903874434.
- 2010: The Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- 2009: Charlie Jarvis for his publication Order out of chaos: Linnaean plant names and their types. (Linnean Society of London, 2007)
- 2008: The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online Project at the University of Cambridge.
- 2006: Peter Marren for his book The New Naturalists (2nd Edition). (Collins, 2005). ISBN: 0007197160.
- 2005: David E. Allen and Gabrielle Hatfield for their book Medicinal plants in folk tradition: an ethnobotany of Britain and Ireland. (Timber Press, 2004).
- 2004: The American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia, USA) for the exhibition Stuffing Birds, Pressing Plants, Shaping Knowledge: Natural History in North America, 1730-1860, together with web site, catalogue, accompanying educational materials, and programme of school events.
- 2003: Dr Clemency Fisher for the exhibition The Earl & the Pussycat and editing its associated publication A Passion for Natural History.
- 2002: Mr E. W. Groves, Mr D. T. Moore and the late Professor T. G. Vallance for Nature’s Investigator. The diary of Robert Brown in Australia, 1801–1805.
- 2001: Professor A. Geus and Dr K. Schulze-Hagen for the exhibition on Joseph Wolf and the accompanying catalogue.
- 2000: The Natural History Museum, London, and Dr Tony Rice for the exhibition Voyages of Discovery and the accompanying book.