Compton died in Berkeley, California, from a cerebral hemorrhage on March 15, 1962. He was outlived by his wife (who died in 1980) and sons. Compton is buried in the Wooster Cemetery in Wooster, Ohio. Before his death, he was professor-at-large at the University of California, Berkeley for spring 1962.
Compton received many awards in his lifetime, including the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1927, the Matteucci Gold Medal in 1930, the Royal Societys Hughes Medal and the Franklin Institutes Franklin Medal in 1940. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1925, the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1927, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1928. He is commemorated in various ways. Compton crater on the Moon is co-named for Compton and his brother Karl. The physics research building at Washington University in St Louis is named in his honor, as is the universitys top fellowship for undergraduate students studying math, physics, or planetary science. Compton invented a more gentle, elongated, and ramped version of the speed bump called the "Holly hump", many of which are on the roads of the Washington University campus. The University of Chicago remembered Compton and his achievements by dedicating the Arthur H. Compton House in his honor. It is now listed as a National Historic Landmark. Compton also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. NASAs Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was named in honor of Compton. The Compton effect is central to the gamma ray detection instruments aboard the observatory.