Henry Draper Medal

It has since been awarded 45 times. The medal has been awarded to multiple individuals in the same year: in 1977 it was awarded to Arno Allan Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson "for their discovery of the cosmic microwave radiation (a remnant of the very early universe), and their leading role in the discovery of interstellar molecules"; in 1989 to Riccardo Giovanelli and Martha P. Haynes "for the first three-dimensional view of some of the remarkable large-scale filamentary structures of our visible universe"; in 1993 to Ralph Asher Alpher and Robert Herman "for their insight and skill in developing a physical model of the evolution of the universe and in predicting the existence of a microwave background radiation years before this radiation was serendipitously discovered" and in 2001 to R. Paul Butler and Geoffrey Marcy "for their pioneering investigations of planets orbiting other stars via high-precision radial velocities".

Source: National Academy of Sciences • Year — Name — Rationale — Ref • 1886 — Samuel Pierpont — "For numerous investigations of a high order of merit in solar physics, and especially in the domain of radiant energy" • 1888 — Edward Charles — "For his work in stellar photometry, stellar photography, and stellar spectrum photography" • 1890 — Henry Augustus — "For his researches on the solar spectrum, as well as for his investigations in astronomical physics" • 1893 — Hermann Carl — "For spectroscopic observations upon the motion of stars in the line of sight, and other kindred researches" • 1899 — James Edward — "For his researches in spectroscopic astronomy" • 1901 — William — "For his investigations in astronomical physics" • 1904 — George Ellery — "For investigations of solar phenomena, studies of stellar spectra, editing the Astrophysical Journal, and the direction of the Yerkes Observatory" • 1906 — William Wallace — "For his observations and researches relating to the motions of stars in the line of sight, his improvements in the methods of measuring such motions, his discussions of conclusions to be drawn from them, and the organization of work in this field in the southern hemisphere" • 1910 — Charles Greeley — "For his researches on the infra-red region of the solar spectrum and his accurate measurements, by improved devices, of the solar 'constant' of radiation" • 1913 — Henri-Alexandre — "For his researches in solar and stellar physics" • 1915 — Joel — "In recognition of his work on application of the selenium cell to stellar photometry" • 1916 — Albert Abraham — "For his numerous and important contributions to spectroscopy and astronomical physics" • 1918 — Walter Sydney — "For discovering and developing a method of determining the distances of the stars by means of a spectrograph" • 1919 — Charles — "In recognition of his researches in physics and astronomy, chiefly by means of interferometers" • 1920 — Alfred — "For his researches in celestial and laboratory spectroscopy, which have led to a valuable increase of our knowledge of sun spots, comets, and the stars—especially of red stars of Secchi's Type III" • 1921 — Pieter — "For his discovery of the so-called Zeeman effect and for its application on magneto-optics" • 1922 — Henry Norris — "For his remarkably valuable contributions to knowledge of the order of stellar evolution" • 1924 — Arthur Stanley — "For his contribution to knowledge of physical conditions existing within the stars, and for his constructive interpretation of the Einstein theory of the relativity as applied to astronomical problems" • 1926 — Harlow — "For his contributions to astronomical science" • 1928 — William Hammond — "For his researches on nebulae, new stars, and planetary atmospheres" • 1931 — Annie Jump — "In recognition of her astronomical work, in particular for cataloging the spectra of stars" • 1932 — Vesto — "For his spectroscopic researches" • 1934 — John Stanley — "For his able and consistent labors in stellar radial velocities, and related studies energetically pursued for nearly 30 years" • 1936 — Kenneth — "For his fruitful investigations in photographic process which have given emulsions sensitive to red and infrared of the spectrum and made possible great advance in knowledge of this highly important region of the radiant energy of stars" • 1940 — Robert W. — "In recognition of his contributions to astronomical physics; more especially his researches on the spectra and chemical composition of gaseous nebulae" • 1942 — Ira Sprague — "In recognition of his contributions to astronomical physics; more especially his pioneer work upon resonance spectra, his use of color filters in astronomical photography, and his development of methods for concentrating to a high degree the light from diffraction gratings in desired orders and regions of the spectrum" • 1946 — Paul W. — "In recognition of his many important contributions to astronomical physics, in particular those relating to his researches in stellar spectroscopy" • 1948 — Hans — "In recognition of his contributions to astronomical physics, more particularly his researches on the generation of energy in the sun and stars" • 1949 — Otto — "For his contributions to astronomical physics" • 1951 — Bernard — "For his contributions to solar physics. The coronograph, invented by Lyot, has made possible continuous observation of the inner corona on all clear days at any suitable location" • 1955 — Hendrik C. van de — "For his pioneer work on the 21 cm radiation of neutral hydrogen" • 1957 — Horace W. — "For his original and outstanding work leading to the discovery of magnetic fields in stars and also the general magnetic field of the sun" • 1961 — Martin — "For his book Structure and Evolution of the Stars and two papers, "On the Maximum Mass of Stable Stars" and "Evolution of very Massive Stars," which are outstanding contributions in the field of stellar evolution" • 1963 — Richard — "For his achievements in solar spectroscopy" • 1965 — Martin — "For the development of a novel radio-telescopic equipment which made it possible to determine accurately positions of the numerous weak radio sources in the sky" • 1968 — Bengt — "In recognition of his fruitful researches in astronomical physics, and particularly for his part in the discovery and proof of extremely high temperatures in the sun's corona" • 1971 — Subrahmanyan — "For his leadership in, and major contributions to, the field of astrophysics" • 1974 — Lyman — "For his vision and distinguished achievements in space astronomy and for his many outstanding contributions to the physics of the plasmas on earth and in the interstellar medium" • 1977 — Arno Allan and Robert Woodrow — "For their discovery of the cosmic microwave radiation (a remnant of the very early universe), and their leading role in the discovery of interstellar molecules" • 1980 — William Wilson — "For his pioneering researches in spectral classification, leading to a new standard of accuracy in our knowledge of the distances of the stars and the structure of our galaxy" • 1985 — Joseph — "For his pioneering studies of pulsars, including the fundamental measurements of orbit perturbations by gravitational radiation and other general relativistic effects" • 1989 — Riccardo and Martha P. — "For the first three-dimensional view of some of the remarkable large-scale filamentary structures of our visible universe" • 1993 — Ralph Asher and Robert — "For their insight and skill in developing a physical model of the evolution of the universe and in predicting the existence of a microwave background radiation years before this radiation was serendipitously discovered; through this work they were participants in one of the major intellectual achievements of the twentieth century" • 1997 — Bohdan — "For his epochal contributions toward understanding gamma-ray bursts, the evolution of binary stars, and especially the gravitational lensing and microlensing of light from distant objects" • 2001 — R. Paul and Geoffrey — "For their pioneering investigations of planets orbiting other stars via high-precision radial velocities. They have proved that many other planetary systems exist in the universe" • 2005 — Charles L. — "For his contribution to the precise determination of the age, composition, and curvature of the universe through his leadership of NASA's WMAP [Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe] cosmic microwave background mission" • 2009 — Neil — "For his pioneering contributions to gamma ray astronomy. His leadership of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Swift Mission has led to new insights into the extreme physics of active galactic nuclei and gamma ray bursts" • 2013 — William J. — "For his founding concept, unflagging advocacy, and visionary leadership during the development of NASA's Kepler mission, which has uncovered myriad planets and solar systems with unforeseen and surprising properties." • 2017 — Barry C. and Stanley E. Whitcomb — "Honoring Barish and Whitcomb, on behalf of the LIGO collaboration, for their visionary and pivotal leadership roles, scientific guidance, and novel instrument design during the development of LIGO that were crucial for LIGO's discovery of gravitational waves from colliding black holes, thus directly validating Einstein's 100-year-old prediction of gravitational waves and ushering a new field of gravitational wave astronomy." • 2021 — Sheperd S. and Heino — "for their vision and their leadership within the EHT collaboration, embracing theory, instrumentation, observation and analysis in combining radio telescopes around the world to image the shadow of the supermassive black hole in the nearby galaxy M87, thereby validating Einstein’s general theory of relativity." • 2025 — Adam K. — "for his pathbreaking efforts to advance understanding of the interstellar medium."