The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848.[1] The endowed award was to be "for some discovery in the Arts and Sciences, or for the invention or improvement of some useful machine, or for some new process or combination of materials in manufactures, or for ingenuity skill or perfection in workmanship."[1] The medal was first awarded in 1875, 21 years after Cresson's death.[1]

Elliott Cresson Medal
Elliott Cresson Medal given to Emile Berliner in 1913
CountryUSA
Presented byFranklin Institute
First awarded1875
Last awarded1997

The Franklin Institute continued awarding the medal on an occasional basis until 1998 when they reorganized their endowed awards under one umbrella, The Benjamin Franklin Awards.[2]

List of recipients

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A total of 268 Elliott Cresson Medals were given out during the award's lifetime.[3]

Year Awardee Category Citation
1875
William Gibson A. Bonwill Life Science Electro Magnetic Dental Mallet
1875
Fiss, Banes, Erben & Co. Engineering Worsted Yarns
1875
Powers & Weightman Engineering Drug Manufacturing
1875
William P. Tatham Invention Printing press
1875
Benjamin Chew Tilghman Engineering Sand Blast
1875
Joseph Zentmayer Engineering Microscopes and Objectives
1877
John Charlton Engineering Shaft Coupling
1877
P. H. Dudley Engineering Dynomagraph
1878
Henry Bower Chemistry Inodorous Glycerin
1878
Cyrus Chambers Jr. Engineering Bolt and rivet clipper
1878
Williams Farr Goodwin Engineering Competitive test of mowing machines
1879
Norbert Delandtsheer Invention Machine for Testing Flax
1880
Louis H. Spellier Invention Time Telegraph
1881
W. Woodnut Griscom Engineering Electric Induction Motor and Battery
1885
Cyprien Chabot Engineering Shoe Sewing Machine
1885
Frederick Siemens Engineering Regenerative Gas Burner
1886
Patrick Bernard Delany Engineering Synchronous Telegraphy
1886
Thaddeus S. C. Lowe Engineering Water Gas Process and Apparatus
1886
Ott & Brewer Engineering China and Porcelain Wares
1886
Pratt & Whitney Co. Engineering System of Interchangeable Cut Gears
1886
Robert H. Ramsay Engineering Railway Car Transfer Apparatus
1886
Liberty Walkup Invention Airbrush
1887
Charles F. Albert Engineering Violins and Bows
1887
Hugo Bilgram Engineering Bevel Gear Cutter
1887
Alfred H. Cowles Engineering Electric Smelting Furnace
1887
Eugene H. Cowles Engineering Electric Smelting Furnace
1887
Thomas Shaw Engineering Testing for Mine Gases and system of Mine Signaling
1889
Edward Alfred Cowper Invention Writing Telegraph
1889
Ottmar Mergenthaler Engineering Linotype machine
1889
T. Hart Robertson Invention Writing Telegraph
1889
George Frederick Simonds Engineering Universal Rolling Machine
1890
James B. Hammond Engineering Typewriter Improvements
1890
Herman Hollerith Computer and Cognitive Science Electric Tabulating Device
1890
Mayer Hayes & Co. Engineering Manufacture of files
1891
Stockton Bates Engineering Spindle Support
1891
James H. Bevington Engineering Welding Metal and Spinning and Shaping Tube
1891
Bradley Allen Fiske Engineering Rangefinder
1891
Tinius Olsen Engineering Testing Machine
1891
Edwin F. Shaw Engineering Spindle Support
1891
Samuel M. Vauclain Engineering Compound Locomotive
1891
George M. Von Culin Engineering Spindle Support
1892
Philip H. Holmes Engineering Composition for Journal Bearings
1892
Henry M. Howe Engineering Metallurgy of Steel
1893
Clifford H. Batchellor Engineering Compound Locomotive
1893
Frederic Eugene Ives Engineering Color photography
1893
George E. Marks Life Science Improvements in Artificial Limbs
1893
Paul von Jankó Engineering Jankó piano keyboard
1894
Nikola Tesla Engineering Alternating Electric Currents of High Frequency
1895
Henry M. Howe Engineering Experimental Researches on Steel
1895
James Peckover Invention Stone Sawing Machine
1895
Lester Allan Pelton Engineering Water Wheel
1896
Patrick Bernard Delany Engineering Telegraphy, High speed system
1896
Tolbert Lanston Invention Monotype Machine
1897
Hamilton Y. Castner Engineering Process of electrolytic decomposing of alkaline chlorides
1897
Elisha Gray Engineering Telautograph
1897
Charles Francis Jenkins Invention Phantoscope projector
1897
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Physics Discovery of X-rays
1897
Joseph Wilckes Invention Econometer [4]
1898
Wilbur Olin Atwater Engineering Respiration Calorimeter
1898
Thomas Corscaden Engineering All-Wrought Steel Belt Pulley
1898
Clemens Hirschel Invention Venturi Meter
1898
Henri Moissan Engineering Investigations with his electric furnace
1898
Edward Bennett Rosa Engineering Respiration Calorimeter
1900
American Cotton Company Engineering Round Lap Bale System
1900
Louis Edward Levy Engineering Method and apparatus for acid blast etching of metal plates
1900
Pencoyd Iron Works Engineering Bridge construction
1900
United States Geological Survey Earth Science Exhibit of the USGS
1900
Carl Auer von Welsbach Chemistry Discoveries regarding metallic oxides
1901
Rudolph Diesel Engineering Diesel engine
1901
John S. Forbes Chemistry Process of automatically heating and sterilizing fluids
1901
Lewis M. Haupt Engineering Reaction Breakwater
1901
Mason & Hamlin Company Engineering Liszt Pipe Organ
1901
A. G. Waterhouse Engineering Process of automatically heating and sterilizing fluids
1902
Charles Ernest Acker Engineering Manufacturing Caustic Alkali and Halogen Gas
1902
Fred W. Taylor Engineering Process of Treating Tool Steel
1902
Maunsel White Engineering Process of Treating Tool Steel
1903
G. H. Clam Engineering Method of eliminating metals from mixtures of metals
1903
Joseph L. Ferrell Engineering Process of fireproofing wood
1903
Wilson Lindsley Gill Engineering; Computer and Cognitive Science School City Educational Plan
1903
Victor Goldschmidt Engineering Theory of Musical Harmony
1903
Frank J. Sprague Engineering System of Electric Traction
1904
James Mapes Dodge Engineering System of Storing Coal
1904
Wilson Lindsley Gill Engineering; Computer and Cognitive Science School City
1904
Hans Goldschmidt Physics Alumino-Thermics
1904
Louis E. Levy Engineering Machine for preparation of plates for etching
1904
L. D. Lovekin Engineering Expanding and Flanging Machinery for Tubes
1904
Alexander E. Outerbridge Jr. Engineering Molecular Structure of Cast Iron
1904
John Clinton Parker Engineering Steam Generator
1905
Gray National Telautograph Company Engineering Telautograph
1905
Michael Idvorsky Pupin Physics Reducing Attenuation of Electrical Waves
1906
American Paper Bottle Company Engineering Paper Milk Bottles
1906
William Joseph Hammer (unspecified) Historic Collection of Incandescent Electric Lamps
1907
Baldwin Locomotive Works Engineering Contributions to Evolution of American Locomotive
1907
John L. Borsch Physics A new Bi-Focal Lens
1907
J. Allen Heany Engineering Fireproof Insulated Wire
1907
Ferdinand Philips Engineering Pressed Steel Pulley for Power Transmission
1907
Edward R. Taylor Chemistry Electric Furnace Manufacture of Carbon bisulfide
1908
Romeyn Beck Hough Engineering Uses of American Woods
1908
Anatole Mallet Engineering Improved Articulated Compound Locomotive
1909
Marie Curie Chemistry The discovery of radium
1909
Pierre Curie Chemistry The discovery of radium
1909
Wolfgang Gaede Engineering Molecular Air Pump
1909
James Gayley Engineering Dry air blast in blast furnace operation
1909
Auguste and Louis Lumière Engineering Color photography
1909
George Owen Squier Engineering Multiplex Telephony
1909
Benjamin Talbot Engineering Open Hearth Steel Process
1909
Walter Victor Turner Engineering Air Brake Design and Application
1909
Underwood Typewriter Co. Engineering Underwood Typewriter
1909
Alexis Vernasz Engineering Milling files
1909
H. A. Wise Wood Engineering The Autoplate Machine
1910
Automatic Electric Company Engineering Automatic System of Telephony
1910
John A. Brashear Physics Distinguished work in astronomical instruments
1910
Peter Cooper Hewitt Invention Mercury rectifier
1910
John Fritz Engineering Distinguished work in iron and steel industries
1910
Robert Abbott Hadfield Engineering Distinguished work in metallurgical sciences
1910
Ernest Rutherford Engineering Distinguished work in electrical theory
1910
Joseph John Thomson Physics For distinguished work in physical sciences
1910
Edward Weston Engineering Distinguished work in electrical discovery
1910
Harvey W. Wiley Life Science Distinguished work in agricultural chemistry
1912
Alexander Graham Bell Engineering Electrical Transmission of Articulate Speech
1912
William Crookes Chemistry Discoveries in Chemistry
1912
Alfred E Noble Engineering Distinguished work in civil engineering
1912
Edward Williams Morley Chemistry Determination of fundamental magnitudes in chemistry
1912
Albert A. Michelson Physics Investigations in physical optics
1912
Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe Chemistry Important Research in Chemistry
1912
Samuel Wesley Stratton Engineering Distinguished work in metrology
1912
Elihu Thomson Engineering Industrial applications of electricity
1912
Adolf von Baeyer Chemistry Extended research in organic chemistry
1913
Emile Berliner Engineering Contributions to telephony and science of sound reproduction
1913
Hermann Emil Fischer Life Science Organic and biological chemistry
1913
Sir William Ramsay Chemistry Discoveries in chemistry
1913
Isham Randolph Engineering Distinguished work in civil engineering
1913
John Strutt Physics Extended researches in physical science
1913
Albert Sauveur Engineering Metallography of Iron and Steel
1913
Charles Proteus Steinmetz Engineering Analytical methods in electrical engineering
1914
Josef Maria von Eder Chemistry Original Researches in Photo-Chemistry
1914
Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde Engineering Liquefaction of gases and refrigeration
1914
Edgar Fahs Smith Chemistry Leading work in electro-chemistry
1914
Orville Wright Engineering The art and science of aviation
1915
Michael J. Owens Engineering Automatic Bottle Blowing Machine
1916
American Telephone & Telegraph Engineering Development of the Art of telephony
1916
Byron E. Eldred Engineering Low Expansion Wire for Incandescent Lamps
1916
Robert Gans Engineering Permutit water softening process
1917
Edwin Fitch Northrup Engineering Investigation of Electric Furnaces and High Temperature
1918
Isaac Newton Lewis Engineering Lewis Machine Gun
1920
William LeRoy Emmet Engineering Electrical Propulsion of Ships
1923
Lee DeForest Engineering Audion
1923
Raymond D. Johnson Engineering Hydraulic Valve
1923
Albert Kingsbury Engineering Thrust bearing
1925
Francis Hodgkinson Engineering Turbo-Electric Appliances
1926
George Ellery Hale Physics Astronomical Researches of sun, solar atmosphere and solar physics
1926
Charles S. Hastings Engineering Design of Optical Systems
1927
Dayton C. Miller Physics Researches in Sound
1927
Edward Leamington Nichols Physics Investigations in the Physical Sciences
1928
Gustaf W. Elmen Engineering Permalloy
1928
Henry Ford Engineering Revolutionizing automobile industry, and industrial leadership
1928
Vladimir Karapetoff Computer and Cognitive Science Kinematic Computing Devices
1928
Charles L. Lawrance Engineering Wright Whirlwind Air-Cooled Engine, Model J-5
1929
James Colquhoun Irvine Life Science Carbohydrate chemistry
1929
Chevalier Jackson Life Science Instruments for Removal of Foreign Bodies from Respiratory and food Passages
1929
Elmer Ambrose Sperry [5] Engineering Navigational and Recording Instruments (Gyroscopic)
1930
Norman Rothwell Gibson Physics Measurement of Liquid Flow in Closed Conduits
1930
Irving Edwin Moultrop Engineering High Pressure Steam Boilers in Electric Generating Stations
1931
Clinton Joseph Davisson Physics Scattering and diffraction of electrons by crystals
1931
Lester Halbert Germer Physics Scattering and Diffraction of Electrons by Crystals
1931
Kotaro Honda Engineering Contributions to magnetism and metallurgy
1931
Theodore Lyman Physics Work in Spectroscopy
1932
Percy W. Bridgman Physics Work in high pressure
1932
Charles LeGeyt Fortescue Engineering Symmetrical Coordinates in Polyphase Networks
1932
John B. Whitehead (unspecified) Dielectric Behavior
1933
Walther Bauersfeld Physics Optical Planetarium
1933
Juan de la Cierva Engineering Autogiro-flying machine with freely rotating wings
1934
Stuart Ballantine Engineering Vertical Antenna for Radio Transmission
1934
Union Switch & Signal Engineering Continuous Cab Signal and Automatic Train Control Systems
1936
George O. Curme Chemistry Development of synthetic aliphatic chemistry
1936
Robert J. Van de Graaff Engineering High Voltage Electrostatic Generator
1937
Carl David Anderson Chemistry Discovery of the positron
1937
William Bowie Earth Science Contributions to the Science of Geodesy (Isostasy)
1937
Jacques Edwin Brandenberger Engineering Process for Manufacture of Cellophane
1937
William F. Giauque Physics Low temperature research
1937
Ernest O. Lawrence Engineering Development of the Cyclotron
1938
Edwin H. Land Engineering Polaroid camera
1939
Charles Vernon Boys Physics Creation of new methods for measuring gravitation, sound, heat, radiation and current and static electricity
1939
George Ashley Campbell Engineering Theory of electric circuits for improvements in telephony
1939
John R. Carson Engineering Contributions to electric communications
1940
Frederick M. Backet Engineering Low carbon ferro-alloys and electro-metallurgy
1940
Robert R. Williams Life Science Researches upon Vitamin B1 including its isolation in the pure state in quantities sufficient for further study
1941
United States Navy Engineering Submarine rescue devices, U.S. lung and rescue chamber
1942
Claude Silbert Hudson Life Science Investigation in Carbohydrate chemistry
1942
Isidor I. Rabi Physics Measurement of magnetic moments of atomic nuclei, and their radio frequency spectra
1943
Charles Metcalf Allen Engineering Salt velocity method for measuring the flow of water in conduits
1944
Roger Adams Chemistry Contributions in organic chemistry
1945
Stanford Caldwell Hooper Engineering Leadership in field of radio for U.S. Navy
1945
Lewis Ferry Moody Engineering Hydraulic turbines
1946
Gladeon M. Barnes Engineering Contributions to design and development of anti-aircraft guns, tanks, seacoast artillery and welded gun carriages
1948
Edwin H. Colpitts Engineering Practical systems of long distance communications
1950
Basil Ferdinand Jamieson Schonland Physics Work in the field of atmospheric electricity and the mechanism of lightning discharge
1952
Edward C. Molina Engineering Contributions to improvement of telephonic communications by applying mathematical probability to the study of telephone traffic and by the invention of switching equipment
1952
H. Birchard Taylor Engineering Development of the single runner vertical reaction turbine
1953
William Blum Physics Scientific basis for the electro-deposition of metals
1953
George Russell Harrison Physics Precision measurement in Zeeman effect
1953
William F. Meggers Physics Contributions to field of spectroscopy and to the knowledge of the electronic structure of many elements
1955
F. Philip Bowden Physics For extensive investigations involving frictions between solid surfaces
1957
Willard F. Libby Physics Technique of radio carbon dating
1957
Reginald James Seymour Pigott Engineering Engineering accomplishments, inventions and leadership
1957
Robert Alexander Watson-Watt Engineering Pulsed radar, and development of radar systems
1958
Joseph C. Patrick Chemistry Discoveries in polysulfide polymers and new processes of combining chemical compounds for the manufacture of synthetic rubber
1958
Stephen P. Timoshenko Engineering Theory of elasticity and elastic stability
1959
John Hays Hammond Engineering Developed remote radio control of moving vehicles
1959
Henry Charles Harrison Engineering Matched impedance principle in electro-mechanical devices
1959
Irving Wolff Engineering Contributions to radio, radar and electronics
1960
Hugh Latimer Dryden Engineering Contributions to theory and application of aerodynamics which advanced the art of wind tunnel and aircraft design and for contributions to design and development of first automatic radar homing guided missile
1960
Arpad Ludwig Nadai Engineering Pioneering work in elasticity of materials
1960
William Francis Gray Swann Physics Significant studies in the field of cosmic radiation
1961
Donald A. Glaser Physics The bubble chamber for tracking and photographing tracks of high energy ionizing particles and the fragments of nuclear collisions
1961
Rudolf L. Mössbauer Physics Discovery of recoilless emission
1961
Reinhold Rudenberg Engineering Performance of electric power systems
1961
James Alfred Van Allen Physics Pioneering achievements in space science, Van Allen Radiation Belts
1962
James G. Baker Physics Innovations in the design of astronomical instruments and the mathematics of optical design
1962
Wernher von Braun Engineering Liquid rocket motors and rocket development
1963
Nicholas Christofilos Physics Contributions to applied electromagnetism and nuclear physics such as conception of strange-focusing principle in synchrotrons, the ARGUS experiment and principles in Astron development
1963
Grote Reber Physics Radio astronomy, early radio telescopes, and the identification of the first radio star
1964
Waldo L. Semon Engineering Achievements in natural and synthetic rubber production
1964
Richard V. Southwell Physics Solution of buckling problems in physics and engineering
1964
Robert Rathbun Wilson Physics Contributions to the control and direction of high-energy particle beams and as a designer of instrumentation for measurement of high-energy physical phenomena
1965
Donald Dexter Van Slyke Life Science Clinical chemistry procedures and apparatus
1966
Everitt P. Blizard Physics Development of the theory of radiation shielding
1966
Herman Francis Mark Chemistry Polymers
1968
Neil Bartlett Chemistry Fluorine Compounds of Xenon and Radon
1969
Henry Eyring Chemistry Quantum mechanical calculations of activation energies
1969
Peter Carl Goldmark Engineering Contributions in the fields of electronics
1970
Walter Henry Zinn Engineering Nuclear power reactors
1971
Paul J. Flory Chemistry Polymer science
1971
John Hasbrouck Van Vleck Physics Theories of magnetism and dielectrics
1972
Brian D. Josephson Physics Josephson effect and theory of matter at low temperatures
1972
William Powell Lear Engineering Development of full maneuvering automatic pilot and Lear jet
1973
Allan R. Sandage Physics Astronomy
1973
John Paul Stapp Life Science Crash Injury Research
1974
Theodore L. Cairns Chemistry Percyano compounds, synthesis and exploration of chemical and physical properties
1974
Robert H. Dicke Physics Role in gravitational experiment and theory
1974
Arie Jan Haagen-Smit Earth Science Plant hormones and air pollution chemistry
1974
Bruno B. Rossi Physics Cosmic rays, gamma-ray astronomy
1975
Mildred Cohn Life Science Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of enzymatic complexes
1975
Michael James Lighthill Physics Acoustic quadrupole theory of aerodynamic noise generation
1976
Leon Lederman Physics Leadership in forefront of experimentation in study of high energy interactions, nuclear forces and particle physics
1978
Herbert C. Brown Chemistry Development of methods for synthesis of diborane and alkali metal hydrides
1978
Frank H. Stillinger Chemistry Computer-generated model for water molecules
1979
Steven Weinberg Physics Unified theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions
1980
Riccardo Giacconi Physics Outstanding work in X-ray astronomy
1981
Marion King Hubbert Earth Science Application of quantitative methods to geological problems
1982
Harold P. Eubank Physics Plasma physics
1982
Edgar Bright Wilson Jr. Physics Contributions to the understanding of molecular structure and dynamics
1984
Elizabeth F. Neufeld Life Science For investigation of genetics of mucopolysaccharide storage disease
1985
Robert N. Clayton Engineering For the application of mass spectrometry to geoscience research
1985
Andrei Sakharov Physics For contributions to controlled thermonuclear reactions, baryon synthesis and proton decay, induced gravity and the quark model
1986
Leo P. Kadanoff Physics For contributions to the current understanding of second order phase transition
1987
Gerd Binnig Physics For development of the scanning tunneling microscope
1987
Heinrich Rohrer Physics For the development of scanning tunneling microscope
1988
Harry G. Drickamer Engineering For clarification of the role of pressure in producing paramagnetic-ferromagnetic and conductor-insulator transitions
1989
Edward Norton Lorenz Physics For interpretation of dynamical chaos in physical systems
1990
Marlan O. Scully Physics For his discoveries in laser physics and quantum optics, atomic and statistical physics, and biological engineering
1991
Yakir Aharonov Physics For observations of electromagnetic potentials and insights into quantum mechanics
1991
David Bohm Physics For elevated electromagnetic potentials to status of physical observables
1992
Lap-Chee Tsui Life Science For the discovery of the cystic fibrosis gene
1995
Marvin H. Caruthers Life Science For his contributions in automating the synthesis of DNA oligonucleotides
1995
Alfred Y. Cho Physics For development and refinement of techniques of molecular beam epitaxy for use in quantum physics
1997
Irwin Fridovich Life Science For discovering the biology of free radical reactions in living organisms
1997
Joe Milton McCord Life Science For discovering the biology of free radical reactions in living organisms

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c The Franklin Institute. Donors of the Medals and their histories. The Elliott Cresson Medal - Founded in 1848 - Gold Medal. Retrieved on July 13, 2009. Archived May 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ The Franklin Institute. Awards. About the Awards: History and Facts, Retrieved on July 13, 2009.
  3. ^ The Franklin Institute. Winners. Cresson Medal winners. Note that the 269 listed awardees include two different entries for Lee DeForest, with different spellings of his name. DeForest received only one medal, in 1923. Retrieved on July 13, 2009. Archived February 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Franklin Institute. Journal of the Franklin Institute, Pergamon Press, 1898, page 210. "The Econometer: A Gas Balance for Indicating Continuously the Proportion of Carbonic Acid Gas in the Flow of Furnace Gases"
  5. ^ "Elmer Sperry Dies. Famous Inventor". The New York Times. June 17, 1930. Retrieved 2012-12-21. In 1914, he was awarded first prize of the Aero Club of France or his airplane stabilizer; he also was the winner of two Franklin Institute Medals in 1914 and 1929; Collier Trophies, 1915, 1916; Holley Medal, 1927; John Fritz Medal, 1927; Albert Gary Medal, 1929; two decorations from the last Czar of Russia; two decorations from the Emperor of Japan, the Order of the Rising Sun and the Order of the Sacred Treasure; and the grand prize of the Panama Exposition.