Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service

The Common Wealth Awards of Distinguished Service (or Common Wealth Awards) were created under the will of the late Ralph Hayes, an influential American business executive and philanthropist. Hayes conceived the awards to reward and encourage the best of human performance worldwide. Hayes served on the board of directors of PNC Bank, Delaware's predecessor banks from 1935 to 1965. Through the Common Wealth Awards, he sought to recognize outstanding achievement in eight disciplines: dramatic arts, literature, science, invention, mass communications, public service, government and sociology. The awards also provide an incentive for people to make future contributions to the world community.

Common Wealth Award
Awarded for	Outstanding achievement(s) in dramatic arts, literature, science, invention, mass communications, public service, government, and sociology.
Country	United States
Presented by	PNC Bank
First awarded	1979

Ralph Hayes

Hayes worked in the Office of the United States Secretary of War in Washington, D.C., the motion picture industry, publishing, banking, and for the Coca-Cola Company. For 35 years, he was a Coca-Cola executive; he was secretary-treasurer, vice president, and as a director of Coca-Cola International. He was on the board of directors of the Bank of Delaware (now PNC Bank) from 1943 to 1965, having previously been a Director of its predecessor, The Equitable Trust Company, from 1935 to 1943. Hayes also had a long career of public service. He was a chairman of the James Foundation, president of Community Funds, Inc., and a longtime director of the New York Community Trust. He died in 1977 at the age of 82, leaving the Common Wealth Awards as part of his charitable legacy.

Prize and ceremony

Each recipient of the Common Wealth Award receives a $50,000 prize. It is presented at an annual, invitation-only, black-tie dinner hosted at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware.

In their 39-year history, the Common Wealth Awards have conferred $6 million in prize money to 201 honorees of international renown. The awards are funded by the Common Wealth Trust.

Common Wealth Award Writing Contest

Since 2000, more than sixty Delaware high school students have met and talked to the winning world leaders through the Common Wealth Award Writing Contest. Four winners of the writing contest and their parents or guardians are invited each year to the Common Wealth Awards ceremony, where the honorees are recognized for their lifetime achievement. As time allows, students are often able to talk directly with the winners.

Contest winners are publicly acknowledged at the Common Wealth Awards ceremony and receive a framed picture of themselves taken with the honorees.

List of honorees

Year	Honoree	Discipline	Claim to Fame
1979	Laurence, Lord Olivier United Kingdom	Dramatic Arts	British actor and founding director of the British National Theatre.
	Joseph Papp United States	Dramatic Arts	Influential American theatrical director and producer.
	Jay W. Forrester United States	Science & Invention	Prominent scientist who made outstanding contributions to digital computer technology.
	Charles J. Plank India	Science & Invention	Chemist and inventor credited with inventing the first commercially applicable apparatus for the breaking of hydrocarbons.
	Edward J. Rosinski United States	Science & Invention	Chemical engineer and inventor credited with making significant breakthroughs in the technology of hydrocarbon conversions.
	Kingsley Davis United States	Sociology	American sociologist and demographer who coined the terms population explosion and zero population growth.
	Robert Merton United States	Sociology	Influential sociologist recognized for coining terms such as, self-fulfilling prophecy and role models.
1980	Peter Brook United Kingdom	Dramatic Arts
	Agnes de Mille United States	Dramatic Arts	Famed American dancer and choreographer.
	Gabriel García Márquez Colombia	Literature	Nobel Prize-winning author and a pioneer of the Latin American Boom.
	Robert Penn Warren United States	Literature	American poet, novelist, and literary critic; cofounder of New Criticism.
	Clair McCollough United States	Mass Communications	Radio and television executive, as well as longtime officer of the National Association of Broadcasters
	Lowell Thomas United States	Mass Communications	American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known for publicizing the story of Lawrence of Arabia.
	James Hillier Canada	Science & Invention	Physicist and inventor who assisted in the development of an early, commercially successful electron microscope for RCA.
	Lewis H. Sarett United States	Science & Invention
	James Coleman United States	Sociology
	Otis Duncan United States	Sociology	One of the most influential sociologists in history, instrumental in transforming mainstream American sociology.
1981	Harold Pinter United Kingdom	Dramatic Arts
	Tennessee Williams United States	Dramatic Arts	Major American playwright of the twentieth century.
	Nadine Gordimer South Africa	Literature
	Milan Kundera Czech Republic	Literature
	Walter Cronkite United States	Mass Communications
	Julian Goodman United States	Mass Communications
	Howard S. Becker United States	Sociology
	Peter Blau Austria	Sociology
1982	Harold Prince United States	Dramatic Arts	Award-winning producer and director; co-artistic director of the New Phoenix Repertory Company.
	Wright Morris United States	Literature	American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and photographer.
	Vincent Wasilewski United States	Mass Communications	President of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).
	Bell Laboratories United States	Science & Invention	Credited with the discovery of the Fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE).
	Charles Tilly United States	Sociology
1983	Hume Cronyn Canada (d. United States)	Dramatic Arts
	Jessica Tandy United Kingdom	Dramatic Arts
	Jeane J. Kirkpatrick United States	Government
	Christopher Isherwood United Kingdom	Literature
	César Milstein Argentina	Science & Invention
	Kenneth Lane Thompson United States	Science & Invention
	William Sewell United States	Sociology
1984	Athol Fugard South Africa	Dramatic Arts
	Stephen Sondheim United States	Dramatic Arts	Award-winning stage musical and film composer & lyricist.
	Eudora Welty United States	Literature
	Robert Phelan Langlands Canada	Science & Invention
	Joseph Rubinfeld United States	Invention	Instrumental in licensing the original anticancer line of products for Bristol-Meyers, as well as development of amoxicillin.
	Matilda White Riley United States	Sociology	Renowned sociologist and Daniel B. Fayerweather Professor of Political Economy and Sociology Emerita.
1985	Zelda Fichandler United States	Dramatic Arts	Famed cofounder and producing director of the Arena Stage in Washington.
	Max Frisch Switzerland	Literature
	Candy Lightner United States	Public Service	The organizer and founding president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
	Alain Aspect France	Science & Invention
	Delft Hydraulics Laboratory Netherlands	Science & Invention
	Peter H. Rossi United States	Sociology	Prominent sociologist, best known for documenting homelessness in the 1980s.
1986	Samuel Beckett Ireland	Dramatic Arts
	John Ashbery United States	Literature	Award-winning American poet.
	Norman Cousins United States	Mass Communications
	Leon H. Sullivan United States	Public Service
	Jet Propulsion Laboratory United States	Science & Invention	NASA research center which specializes in building and operating uncrewed spacecraft.
	Kenneth H. Olsen United States	Science & Invention	American engineer who co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1957 with a colleague.
	John A. Clausen United States	Sociology
1987–88	Lloyd Richards United States (b. Canada)	Dramatic Arts
	Andrei Voznesensky Russia	Literature
	Gordon Parks United States	Mass Communications	Famed American photographer, pianist, film director, and novelist.
	N.T. Pete Shields United States	Public Service	Cofounder of Handgun Control, a Washington, D.C.-based citizens' gun control lobbying organization
	John B. MacChesney United States	Science & Invention	Best known for key inventions in the commercial manufacture of optical fiber.
	Robin M. Williams, Jr. United States	Sociology
1989	Jennifer Tipton United States	Dramatic Arts	Award-winning American lighting designer.
	George P. Shultz United States	Government	Former Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and head of the Office of Management and Budget.
	Toni Morrison United States	Literature	Nobel Prize-winning author, editor, and professor.
	David Brinkley United States	Mass Communications	Emmy nominated television newscaster and host of This Week with David Brinkley from 1982–1997.
	Leroy E. Hood United States	Science & Invention	American biologist who helped to decode the human genome.
	Alice S. Rossi United States	Sociology	Cofounder of the National Organization for Women; 74th president of the American Sociological Association.
1990	Jerome Robbins United States	Dramatic Arts	Academy Award-winning film director and choreographer.
	Aharon Appelfeld Israel (b. Romania)	Literature	One of Israel's foremost living Hebrew-language authors.
	David Broder United States	Mass Communications	Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, talk show pundit, and university professor.
	Jaime Escalante Bolivia	Public Service
	J.C.R. Licklider United States	Science & Invention	Renowned for his work on the human-computer dialogue, time sharing, virtual memory, and resource sharing.
	Mirra Komarovsky Russia	Sociology
1991	James Earl Jones United States	Dramatic Arts
	Paul A. Volcker United States	Government	Former chairman of the Federal Reserve.
	Adrienne Rich United States	Literature
	Sebastião Salgado Brazil	Mass Communications	Respected photojournalist and Special Representative for UNICEF.
	Roger N. Beachy United States	Science & Invention	American biologist and founder of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
	Nathan Keyfitz Canada	Sociology	Responsible for important work regarding formal demography and population projections.
1992	Arthur Miller United States	Dramatic Arts
	Warren E. Burger United States	Government
	James A. Michener United States	Literature
	Ted Turner United States	Mass Communications	American media mogul and philanthropist.
	Susan Solomon United States	Science & Invention	Demonstrated the first conclusive link between manmade CFCs and the ozone holes above Antarctica.
1993	Julie Harris United States	Dramatic Arts	Three-time Emmy Award-winning and five-time Tony Award-winning actress of stage, screen, and television.
	John Updike United States	Literature	Prominent American novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic.
	Jim Lehrer United States	Mass Communications	American journalist and anchor for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.
	Jonas Salk United States	Public Service	World-renowned for his development of the polio vaccine.
	Charles H. Townes United States	Science & Invention	Accomplishments range from helping ease the strain of everyday life to studying the origin of the universe.
1994	August Wilson United States	Dramatic Arts	Prominent African-American playwright.
	Henry A. Kissinger United States	Government	Former Secretary of State and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; founder of Kissinger Associates.
	Larry King United States	Mass Communications	Award-winning television and radio broadcaster; host of CNN's Larry King Live.
	Jacques-Yves Cousteau France	Public Service	Explorer, ecologist, scientist, photographer, and researcher who invented SCUBA and pioneered unaided deep sea diving.
	Leland H. Hartwell United States	Science & Invention	Widely recognized pioneer in the field of yeastgenetics and cancer research.
1995	Jane Alexander United States	Dramatic Arts	Award-winning actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts.
	William Styron United States	Literature	Novelist who explored difficult historical and moral questions.
	Charles Kuralt United States	Mass Communications	Award-winning American journalist, best known for his long career with CBS.
	James & Sarah Brady United States	Public Service	Influential members of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
	Karen Uhlenbeck United States	Science & Invention	Helped in the understanding of the fundamental properties of matter in the universe.
1996	Jason Robards United States	Dramatic Arts	Award-winning film and television actor.
	Derek Walcott Saint Lucia	Literature	Nobel Prize-winning poet, playwright, writer, visual artist, and theatre & art critic.
	Ken Burns United States	Mass Communications	Award-winning documentary filmmaker.
	Eunice Kennedy Shriver United States	Public Service	Founder of the Special Olympics.
	Andrew Wiles United Kingdom	Science & Invention	Solved Fermat's Last Theorem, an equation that had perplexed mathematicians for centuries.
1997	Seamus Heaney Ireland	Literature	Nobel Prize-winning poet, writer, and lecturer.
	Michael E. DeBakey United States	Science & Invention	Internationally recognized pioneer in the field of cardiovascular research and surgery.
	Jane Goodall United Kingdom	Public Service	World-renowned for her 45-year study of chimpanzee social and family life.
	Edward Albee United States	Dramatic Arts	Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary American playwright.
	James H. Clark United States	Mass Communications	Prolific entrepreneur and former computer scientist; cofounder of Netscape Communications Corporation.
1998	Christopher Plummer Canada	Dramatic Arts	Actor of stage, screen, and television during his five-decade career.
	Saul Bellow United States (b. Canada)	Literature	Nobel Prize-winning novelist.
	Bill Moyers United States	Mass Communications	Veteran journalist who worked for both CBS and PBS during his nearly four-decade career.
	Betty Ford United States	Public Service	Founder of the Betty Ford Center, a drug and alcohol dependency treatment center located in Rancho Mirage, CA.
	Stephanie Kwolek United States	Science & Invention	Was responsible for the creation and discovery of Kevlar during her time at the DuPont Company.
1999	Dr. Louis Miller United States	Science & Invention	Biologist who has made vast contributions to malaria research and other widespread tropical diseases.
	John Irving United States	Literature	Bestselling American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.
	Robert MacNeil Canada	Mass Communications	Former television news anchor and journalist of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report.
	Lawrence Eagleburger United States	Government	Former Secretary of State and diplomat.
	Julie Taymor United States	Dramatic Arts	American director of Broadway theatre and film.
2000	Desmond Tutu South Africa	Public Service	Anglican archbishop, international human rights leader, and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
	E. L. Doctorow United States	Literature	Foremost American novelist acclaimed for his lyrical, breakthrough fiction.
	Christiane Amanpour United Kingdom	Mass Communications	CNN chief foreign correspondent and influential reporter of global crises.
	Robert Ballard United States	Science & Invention	Marine scientist, pioneer of deep ocean exploration, and undersea archaeologist.
	Mikhail Baryshnikov Russia	Dramatic Arts	Legendary dancer and icon of classical ballet and modern dance.
2001	Morgan Freeman United States	Dramatic Arts	Veteran actor acclaimed for his classic, commanding roles on stage, screen, and television.
	J. Craig Venter United States	Science & Invention	Biochemist, entrepreneur, and gene pioneer who succeeded in unlocking the human genetic code.
	James Nachtwey United States	Mass Communications	Renowned photojournalist who has chronicled the human anguish of war, genocide, and famine worldwide.
	Philip Roth United States	Literature	Pulitzer Prize winner regarded as a literary giant among America's postwar generation of writers.
	Dr. William Magee & Kathleen Magee United States	Public Service	Founders of Operation Smile, which aids children with facial deformities around the world.
2002	Julie Andrews United Kingdom	Dramatic Arts	World-renowned performer whose stardom spans movies, theater, television, and concert hall.
	Carlos Fuentes Mexico	Literature	Preeminent writer of fiction and political commentary, and a leading cultural force in modern Latin America.
	Lonnie Thompson & Ellen Mosley-Thompson United States	Science & Invention	Researchers who have tracked Earth's ancient climate history and global warming.
	George Mitchell United States	Government	Former U.S. Senate majority leader and peace mediator for Northern Ireland and the Middle East.
	Fred Rogers United States	Mass Communications	Children's television icon; creator and host of the critically acclaimed Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
2003	Sam Donaldson United States	Mass Communications	Veteran television journalist and former chief White House correspondent for ABC News.
	Bob Dole United States	Government	Former U.S. Senate majority leader and influential voice of the Republican Party.
	Susan Stroman United States	Dramatic Arts	Broadway's most celebrated director-choreographer.
	Joyce Carol Oates United States	Literature	One of America's most significant and inventive contemporary writers.
	Dean Kamen United States	Science & Invention	Renowned inventor of breakthrough medical and transportation devices.
2004	Christopher Reeve United States	Public Service	Renowned actor and America's leading advocate for people with paralysis and other disabilities.
	Meryl Streep United States	Dramatic Arts	Legendary actress and Hollywood icon, considered the greatest film star of her generation.
	Stanley Prusiner, M.D. United States	Science & Invention	Pioneering researcher and Nobel Prize-winner who discovered the deadly protein linked to mad-cow disease.
	Isabel Allende Chile	Literature	The most widely read and renowned Latin American woman writer in the world.
	Andrea Mitchell United States	Mass Communications	Leading broadcast journalist and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News.
2005	Gen. Colin L. Powell United States	Government	Former Secretary of State and respected leader, diplomat, and soldier.
	David Mamet United States	Dramatic Arts	Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Hollywood screenwriter, and preeminent dramatist.
	Tim Berners-Lee United Kingdom	Mass Communications	Visionary inventor of the World Wide Web and director of the World Wide Web consortium.
	Amy Tan United States	Literature	Best-selling novelist whose stories explore family ties, heritage, and the Asian-American experience.
	Kip Thorne United States	Science & Invention	Foremost American researcher of black holes and gravitational waves.
2006	John Glenn United States	Government	Former U.S. Senator, astronaut, and heroic pioneer of American space exploration.
	HM Queen Noor of Jordan Jordan	Public Service	A leading voice for global peace-building, human rights, and conflict recovery issues.
	Mike Nichols United States	Dramatic Arts	Preeminent and award-winning director of stage and screen.
	Rita Dove United States	Literature	Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and two-term Poet Laureate of the United States.
	Anderson Cooper United States	Mass Communications	Leading broadcast journalist and CNN news anchor of Anderson Cooper 360°.
2007	Sidney Poitier United States	Dramatic Arts	Academy Award-winning actor and cinematic trailblazer.
	Aleksander Kwaśniewski Poland	Government	Former two-term president of the Republic of Poland; cofounder of the Social Democratic Party.
	Cokie Roberts United States	Mass Communications	Veteran broadcast journalist; best-selling author; political analyst for ABC News; and NPR senior news analyst.
	Ian McEwan United Kingdom	Literature	Acclaimed and award-winning British novelist, short-story, and screenwriter.
2008	Glenn Close United States	Dramatic Arts	Celebrated actress of stage, screen, and television.
	John Howard Australia	Government	Four-term prime minister of Australia.
	Ann Curry United States (b. Guam)	Mass Communications	News anchor of NBC's Today; coanchor of Dateline NBC.
	James E. Hansen United States	Science	Preeminent climate scientist; director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
2009	Buzz Aldren United States	Science	Astronaut and lunar explorer.
	Doris Kearns Goodwin United States	Mass Communications	Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
	Don DeLillo United States	Literature	Author, playwright and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
	Kevin Spacey United States	Dramatic Arts	Academy Award-winning actor and artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre Company.
2010	Annie Leibovitz United States	Mass Communications	Legendary portrait photographer responsible for some of the most iconic images of the last four decades.
	Laura Linney United States	Dramatic Arts	Award-winning actress of stage, film, and theatre. Best known for her roles in Love Actually and HBO miniseries "John Adams."
	Greg Mortenson United States	Public Service	Humanitarian, writer. Co-founder of the Central Asia Institute and founder of the charity Pennies for Peace.
	Salman Rushdie India	Literature	Booker Prize-winning novelist and essayist. Played a major role in the development of Indian English literature.
2011	Russell Banks United States	Literature	Internationally acclaimed novelist, poet, and short story writer.
	Cherie Blair United Kingdom	Public Service	Noted human rights lawyer and women's rights activist.
	Bill Richardson United States	Government	Thirtieth Governor of New Mexico, former U.S. Energy Secretary, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Congressman.
	George Will United States	Mass Communications	America's foremost political commentator and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist.
2012	Wolf Blitzer United States	Mass Communications
	Madeleine Albright United States	Government
	Kenneth Cole United States	Public Service
	Judith Jamison United States	Dramatic Arts
2013	Alan Alda United States	Dramatic Arts
	David McCullough United States	Literature
	Jane Pauley United States	Mass Communications
	Martin Sheen United States	Public Service
2014	Bob Costas United States	Mass Communications
	Anjelica Huston United States	Dramatic Arts
	Mariano Rivera Panama	Public Service
2015	Jon Bon Jovi United States	Public Service
	Edward Norton United States	Public Service
	Jimmy Wales United States	Mass Communications
2016	Mandy Patankin United States	Dramatic Arts
	Bob Schieffer United States	Mass Communications
	Elizabeth Smart United States	Public Service
2017	Charles Grodin United States	Dramatic Arts	Distinguished commentator and storyteller.
	Dr. Mae Jemison United States	Science	Esteemed engineer, physician and NASA astronaut; the first African-American woman to travel in space.
	Marlo Thomas United States	Public Service	Social activist and leading national advocate for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
2018	Joe Biden United States	Government	American politician and former Vice President of the United States.
	Ron Chernow United States	Literature	Preeminent American historic biographer.
	Henry Louis Gates, Jr. United States	Sociology	Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, distinguished filmmaker, literary scholar and cultural critic.
2019	Diane Keaton United States	Dramatic Arts	Academy Award-winning and Tony nominated actor
	Peggy Noonan United States	Mass Communications	presidential speechwriter, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist
	Captain Sully Sullenberger United States	Public Service	American hero, safety expert, and author

See also

• List of general science and technology awards