Lister Medal
# Lister Medal

The Lister Medal is an award presented by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in recognition of contributions to surgical science. It is named after the English surgeon Joseph Lister (1827-1912), whose work on antiseptics established the basis of modern sterile surgery.

The medal has its origins in the Lister Memorial Fund, started by the Royal Society, which was raised by public subscription after Lister's death, with the object of creating a lasting mark of respect to his memory. In 1920, the Royal College of Surgeons of England became the trustees and administrators of the fund. They were entrusted with the task of awarding a monetary prize and a bronze medal (gold since 1984) every three years, irrespective of nationality, to those who had made outstanding contributions to surgical science. The triennial award is decided by a committee representing the Royal Society, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Glasgow.

The Lister Medal, although it is not always awarded to a surgeon, is one of the most prestigious honours a surgeon can receive. The obverse of the medal consists of a representation of a bust of Lord Lister. The reverse side has the recipient's name across centre, and around the edge of the medal is text naming the award along with the dedication:

   FOR DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTIONS TO SURGICAL SCIENCE

On the occasion of the award, the medallist delivers the Lister Oration (sometimes called the "Lister Memorial Lecture"). The first award was announced in 1924, with the presentation and the lecture taking place the following year. The most recent award was made in 2015, with a total of 27 people having received the medal to date.

## Medallists

| Year | Medallist | Date of lecture | Title of lecture |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1924 | William Watson Cheyne | 14 May 1925 | 'Lister and his Achievement' |
| 1927 | Anton Eiselsberg | 7 July 1927 | [Reported under various titles - see notes] |
| 1930 | Harvey Williams Cushing | 9 July 1930 | 'Neurohypophysial mechanisms from a clinical standpoint' |
| 1933 | Charles Alfred Ballance | 5 April 1933 | 'On Nerve Surgery' |
| 1936 | Robert Muir | 7 April 1936 | 'Malignancy with illustrations from the pathology of the mamma' |
| 1939 | René Leriche | 5 April 1939 | 'The Listerian Idea in the Year 1939' |
| 1942 | Evarts Ambrose Graham | 25 September 1947 | 'Some Aspects of Bronchiogenic Carcinoma' |
| 1945 | Howard Florey | 11 October 1945 | 'The Use of Micro-organisms for Therapeutic Purposes' |
| 1948 | Geoffrey Jefferson | 9 June 1949 | 'The Mind of Mechanical Man' |
| 1951 | James Rognvald Learmonth | 4 April 1952 | 'After Fifty-Six Years' |
| 1954 | Victor Ewings Negus | 5 April 1955 | 'The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Respiratory Tract in Relation to Clinical Problems' |
| 1957 | William Stewart Duke-Elder | 28 March 1958 | 'The Emergence of Vision in the Animal World' |
| 1960 | Wilder Graves Penfield | 27 April 1961 | 'Activation of the Record of Human Experience' |
| 1963 | Charles Frederick William Illingworth | 9 April 1964 | 'On the Interdependence of Science and the Healing Art' |
| 1966 | Russell Claude Brock | 4 April 1967 | 'Surgery and Lister' |
| 1969 | Michael Francis Addison Woodruff | 8 April 1970 | 'Biological aspects of individuality' |
| 1972 | John Webster Kirklin | 11 April 1973 | 'An Academic Surgeon's Work' |
| 1975 | John Charnley | 26 May 1976 | 'Aspects of total asepsis in the operating room with special reference to clean air systems' |
| 1978 | Francis Daniels Moore | 23 May 1979 | 'Science and service' |
| 1981 | John Cedric Goligher | 6 April 1983 | 'The Skeptical Chirurgeon' |
| 1984 | Roy Yorke Calne | 21 May 1985 | 'Organ transplantation: from laboratory to clinic' |
| 1987 | Patrick Forrest | 7 April 1988 | 'Breast cancer: 121 years on' |
| 1990 | Harold Horace Hopkins | 11 April 1991 | 'The development of the modern endoscopes - present and future prospects' |
| 1994 | Norman Edward Shumway | | 'Transplantation of the heart' |
| 1997 | Peter John Morris | 10 September 1998 | 'Kidney transplantation: a remarkable story of science and surgery' |
| 2010 | Graeme Clark | 4 November 2010 | 'What can electrical stimulation with a cochlear implant tell us about Brain Function and Human Consciousness?' |
| 2015 | Magdi Yacoub | 28 October 2015 | 'The Glory and Threat of Science and Medicine' |

* Recent medallists
* Graeme Clark (right) receiving the 2010 Lister Medal
* Reverse of the Lister Medal with the inscription
* Magdi Yacoub (left) receiving the 2015 Lister Medal
