Davy Medal

A medal awarded by the Royal Society for an outstandingly important recent discovery in chemistry. Established in 1877 in memory of Sir Humphry Davy, it was initially awarded for work contributing to the advancement of chemical science. The first recipient was August Wilhelm von Hofmann in 1877. Nineteenth-century recipients included Charles Adolphe Wurtz, Dmitri Mendeleev, and Friedrich August Kekulé. The medal continues to be awarded annually, now for outstanding work in any branch of chemistry.