The Royal Society of Arts Benjamin Franklin Medal was instituted in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

's birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership to the Royal Society of Arts. The medal is conferred by the RSA on individuals, groups, and organisations who have made profound efforts to forward Anglo-American understanding in areas closely linked to the RSA's agenda. It is also awarded to recognise those that have made a significant contribution to global affairs through co-operation and collaboration between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The medal is awarded annually, alternately to citizens of the United Kingdom and the United States. The Benjamin Franklin Medal was designed by Christopher Ironside OBE, in 1956.

Medalists

* 1957 Professor

Frederic Calland Williams Sir Frederic Calland Williams, (26 June 1911 – 11 August 1977), known as F.C. Williams or Freddie Williams, was an English engineer, a pioneer in radar and computer technology. Education Williams was born in Romiley, Stockport, and ed ...

OBE DSc MIEE FRS, professor of electrical engineering at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

* 1958 Peter Ustinov, actor, producer, director, playwright * 1959 George Horatio Nelson MA MICE MIMechE MIEE, managing director of The English Electric Company Limited * 1960 Robert Nicholson, FSIA exhibition and interior designer * 1961 Alick Dick, chairman and managing director of Standard-Triumph International Limited * 1962 The Lord Rootes GBE, joint founder of the

Rootes Group The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and de ...

* 1963

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family. Early life Whi ...

, American diplomatist and publisher * 1964 Sir Evelyn Wrench KCMG, founder of the English-Speaking Union and of the Overseas League * 1965 Paul Mellon, American business and foundation executive * 1966 Sir Denis Brogan D-es Lettres LLD, writer on United States affairs * 1967 Dr. Detlev Bronk, president of the Rockefeller University * 1968 Peter Wilson, chairman of

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

* 1969 Dr. Louis Booker Wright PhD Dlitt LHD, director of the

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materi ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

* 1970 Sir Denning Pearson, chief executive and chairman of Rolls-Royce Limited * 1971 David Bruce, diplomat * 1972 Sir

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

OM, composer * 1973

Alistair Cooke Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...

DBE, prima ballerina * 1975 Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis, English scholar * 1976 Rt Hon Harold Macmillan, statesman and publisher * 1977

J. William Fulbright James William Fulbright (April 9, 1905 – February 9, 1995) was an American politician, academic, and statesman who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. , Fulbright is the longest serving chair ...

, former United States Senator for Arkansas * 1978 Dr. Ivor Armstrong Richards, professor emeritus of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

* 1979 Professor

Henry-Russell Hitchcock Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1903–1987) was an American architectural historian, and for many years a professor at Smith College and New York University. His writings helped to define the characteristics of modernist architecture. Early life He ...

, writer and lecturer on architectural history * 1980 Sir Bernard Lovell OBE FRS, professor of radio astronomy,

and then-director of

Jodrell Bank Observatory Jodrell Bank Observatory () in Cheshire, England, hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astro ...

* 1981 Lincoln Kirstein, director, School of American Ballet,

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

Company * 1982 The Lord Sherfield GCB GCMG Diplomat * 1983 Dr.

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a w ...

, writer and teacher on town and country planning * 1984 The Lord Gordon Richardson of Duntisbourne, retired

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...

* 1985 Harry L. Hansen, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration * 1986 Sir David Wills CBE TD DL, former chairman of the

Ditchley Foundation The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. It is based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. It was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by phil ...

* 1987

Kingman Brewster Kingman Brewster Jr. (June 17, 1919 – November 8, 1988) was an American educator, academic and diplomat. He served as the 17th President of Yale University and as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Early life Brewster was born in ...

, diplomat * 1988 Professor Esmond Wright, English scholar * 1989

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited a ...

, actor, director and founder of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre * 1990 Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster * 1991 Edward Streator, diplomat * 1993

Robert Venturi Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major architectural figures of the twentieth century. Together with h ...

and

Denise Scott Brown Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, ...

, architects * 1994 Sir

John Templeton Sir John Marks Templeton (29 November 1912 – 8 July 2008) was an American-born British investor, banker, Asset management, fund manager, and philanthropist. In 1954, he entered the Mutual fund, mutual fund market and created the Franklin Temp ...

, financial analyst and philanthropist * 1995 The Honorable Raymond G. H. Seitz, diplomat * 1996 Sir

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which wo ...

, film producer * 1997 William R. Hewlett, co-founder and director emeritus of

Hewlett-Packard Company The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

* 1998 Sir

Alex Trotman Alexander James Trotman, Baron Trotman (22 July 1933 – 25 April 2005) was a British people, British-born businessman who served as the Chief executive officer, CEO of Ford Motor Company from 1993 to 1998. Trotman was the first foreign-born ...

, chairman and chief executive officer of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

* 1999 Senator

George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 19 ...

, special counsel and chairman of the peace negotiations in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

* 2000 Dame

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

, actress * 2001 Ambassador

Philip Lader Philip Lader, is a former US Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s and former Chairman of WPP plc, the global advertising/communications services firm (including Ogilvy & Mather, J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam, Grey, Hill & Knowlton, B ...

, former US Ambassador to the Court of St James’s * 2002 Dame

Marjorie Scardino Dame Marjorie Scardino, , FRSA ( Morris; born 25 January 1947) is an American-born British business executive. She is the former CEO of Pearson PLC. Scardino became a trustee of Oxfam during her tenure at Pearson. She was criticized by ''Pr ...

, chief executive officer of Pearson PLC * 2003 General Colin Powell, former

US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

* 2004

Jonathan Ive Sir Jonathan Paul Ive (born 27 February 1967) is a British industrial and product designer, as well as businessman. Ive was the chief design officer (CDO) of Apple Inc. from 1997 until 2019 (known as senior vice principal of industrial design ...

, vice-president of design, Apple Computer * 2005 Dr.

Amory Lovins Amory Bloch Lovins (born November 13, 1947) is an American writer, physicist, and former chairman/chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has written on energy policy and related areas for four decades, and served on the US Nationa ...

, chief executive officer of

Rocky Mountain Institute RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) is an organization in the United States co-founded by Amory Lovins dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the field of sustainability, with a focus on profitable innovations for energy an ...

* 2008 Sir Ken Robinson, author, educator * 2009 Professor Elizabeth Gould, psychologist,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

* 2010 Professor

Jonathan Israel Jonathan Irvine Israel (born 26 January 1946) is a British writer and academic specialising in Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment and European Jews. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies a ...

, School of Historical Studies,

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

, Princeton, New Jersey. * 2011 Professor

Lawrence W. Sherman Lawrence W. Sherman (born October 25, 1949) is an American experimental criminologist and police educator who is the founder of evidence-based policing. Sherman's use of randomized controlled experiments to study deterrence and crime prevention ...

, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. * 2013

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, ...

, thought leader and author, CEO of the Aspen Institute * 2015

Chris Anderson Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

, entrepreneur and the curator of TED * 2016

Wendy Kopp Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...

, CEO and co-founder of Teach For All * 2018 Herbie Hancock, musician/composer

References

{{Benjamin Franklin, state=collapsed Awards established in 1956 Royal Society of Arts Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom Lists of award winners 1956 establishments in the United Kingdom