Leopoldina Cothenius Medal
Awarded forOutstanding research in any branch of science
SponsorGerman National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
CountryGermany
Year1792 (age 234)
WebsiteCothenius Medal

Cothenius Medal is a medal awarded by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (known as the Leopoldina) for outstanding scientific achievement during the life of the awardee.[1] The medal was created to honour Christian Andreas Cothenius, who was the personal physician to Frederick the Great.[2] In 1743, Cothenius became a fellow of the Leopoldina, later president of the learned society that had been created by Emperor Leopold I.[2] When Cothenius died, he left a sum of money in his will to the society with the condition that the interest on the money should be used to award a gold medal, every two years by answering a question in medicine whereby some new truth could be established.[2] Up until 1864, the award came with a prize but was then converted into an award for the promotion of research over the whole period of a person's life.[3] Each medal bears the Latin inscription "Praemium virtutis salutem mortalium provehentibus sancitum" (Created in recognition of the ability of those who promote the good of mortals).[1]

Cothenius Medal awardees, 1959–Present

YearImageLaureateDisciplineCityRef
2025Kai Simons (born 1938)Biochemistry/cell biologyDresden[4]
2024Roger S. Goody (born 1944)BiochemistryDortmund[5]
2023Jürgen Troe (born 1940)Physical ChemistryGöttingen[6]
2021Rudolf K. Thauer (born 1939)Microbiology/ImmunologyMarburg[7]
2021Werner Kühlbrandt (born 1951)Biochemistry/Structural BiologyFrankfurt[8]
2019Klaus Müllen (born 1947)ChemistryMainz[9]
2019Walter Neupert (1939–2019)Biochemistry and cell biologyMartinsried[10]
2017Fritz Melchers (born 1936)Cell biologyBerlin[11]
2017Joachim Trümper (born 1933)X-ray astronomyGarching[12]
2015Herbert Gleiter (born 1938)PhysicsKarlsruhe[13]
2015Otto Ludwig Lange (1927–2017)BiologyWürzburg[14]
2013Gunter S. Fischer (born 1943)ChemistryHalle[15]
2013Wolf Singer (born 1943)NeurosciencesFrankfurt[16]
2011Bert Hölldobler (born 1936)ZoologyWürzburg[17]
2011Anna M. Wobus (born 1945)Human genetics and molecular medicineGatersleben[18]
2011Ulrich Wobus (born 1942)Genetics/Molecular BiologyGatersleben
2009Karl Decker (1925–2024)Biochemistry[19]
2009Eduard Seidler (1929–2020)History of medicine[15]
2007Klaus Wolff (1935–2019)DermatologyVienna[20]
2007Sigrid Doris Peyerimhoff (born 1937)Physical chemistryBonn[21][22]
2005Hans Günter Schlegel (1924–2013)MicrobiologyGöttingen[15]
2005Alfred Gierer (born 1929)Molecular biologist[15]
2003Ernst J. M. Helmreich (1922–2017)BiochemistryWürzburg[23]
2003Benno Parthier (1932–2019)Cell biology[24]
2003Andreas Oksche (1926–2017)AnatomyGiessen[25]
2001Leopold Horner (1911–2005)ChemistryMainz[26]
2001Heinz Jagodzinski (1916–2012)PhysicsMunich[27]
2000Hans Mohr (1930–2016)Plant physiologistFreiburg[28]
1999Rudolf Rott (1926–2003)Veterinary medicineGiessen[29]
1999Dorothea Kuhn (1923–2015)History of science and medicineMarbach
1997Otto Braun-Falco (1922–2018)DermatologyMunich[30]
1997Friedrich Hirzebruch (1927–2012)MathematicsBonn[31]
1995Wilhelm Doerr (1914–1996)PathologyHeidelberg[32]
1995Gottfried Möllenstedt (1912–1997)PhysicsTübingen
1995Dietrich Schneider (1919–2008)ZoologyStarnberg[33]
1993Wolfgang Gerok ( (1926–2021)Internal MedicineFreiburg[34]
1993Bernhard Hassenstein (1922–2016)ZoologieFreiburg[35]
1991Heinz Röhrer (1905–1992)Veterinary MedicineRathenow[36]
1991Albert Eschenmoser (1925–2023)ChemistryKüsnacht[37]
1989Sir Bernhard Katz (1911–2003)PhysiologyLondon[38]
1989Jürgen Tonndorf (1914–1989)OtorhinolaryngologyNew York[39]
1989Heinz Bethge (1919–2001)Physics[40]
1987Rostislaw Kaischew (1908–1990)Physical ChemistrySofia[41]
1987Adolf Watznauer (1907–1995)GeologyKarl-Marx-Stadt[42]
1985Konrad Zuse (1910–1995)Computer technologyHünfeld[43]
1985Hermann Flohn (1912–1997)ClimatologyBonn[15]
1983Wolf von Engelhardt (1910–2008)MineralogyTübingen[15]
1983Erna Lesky (1911–1986)History of MedicineInnsbruck[44]
1980Wilhelm Jost (1903–1988)Physical ChemistryGöttingen[45]
1980Peter Friedrich Matzen (1909–1986)OrthopaedicsLeipzig[46]
1977Wolfgang Gentner (1906–1980)PhysicsHeidelberg[47]
1977Arnold Graffi (1910–2006)General BiologyBerlin[48]
1975Ilya Prigogine (1917–1988)Physical ChemistryBrussels/Austin[49]
1975Ernst Ruska (1906–1996)PhysicsBerlin[50]
1974Viktor Ambartsumian (1908–1996)AstronomyYerevan[51]
1973Albrecht Unsöld (1905–1995)AstronomyKiel[52]
1972Erwin Reichenbach (1897–1973)Stomatology[53]
1971Otto Kratky (1902–1995)Physical ChemistryGraz[54]
1971Friedrich Hund (1896–1997)GöttingenPhysics[55]
1969Pavel Alexandrov (1896–1982)MathematicsMoscow[15]
1969Helmut Hasse (1898–1979)MathematicsHamburg[56]
1969Bartel Leendert van der Waerden (1903 - 1996)MathematicsZürich[15]
1967Vladimir Engelgardt (1894–1984)Physiological ChemistryMoscow[15]
1967Karl Lohmann (1898–1978)Physiological ChemistryBerlin[57]
1966Archibald Vivian Hill (1886–1977)PhysiologyCambridge (GB)[58]
1965Hans Hermann Bennhold (1893–1976)Internal MedicineTübingen[59]
1965Ernst Derra (1901–1979)SurgeryDüsseldorf[15]
1964Wolfgang von Buddenbrock-Hettersdorff (1884–1964)ZoologyMainz[60]
1961Max Bürger (1885–1966)Internal MedicineLeipzig[61]
1960Kurt Mothes (1900–1983)BotanyHalle[62]
1960John Eccles (1903–1997)PhysiologyCanberra[63]
1959George de Hevesy (1885–1966)Physical ChemistryStockholm[64]
1959Pyotr Kapitsa (1894–1984)PhysicsMoscow[65]

Cothenius Medal awardees, 1864–1953

Main article: Cothenius Medal awardees, 1864–1953

Cothenius Medal awardees, 1792–1861

Main article: Cothenius Medal awardees, 1792–1861

References

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