Awards, Medals, and Prizes

 

Academy Award (Oscar): Awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences;  first awarded in 1927.  A national prize to recognize notable achievement in film making (picture, foreign, documentary), acting, directing, writing, cinematography, editing, music, design, sound, special effects, technology, and lifetime achievement or special service;  winners in numerous categories selected by their peers.

Bollingen Prize: Awarded by the Bollingen Foundation (Yale University);  first awarded in 1949.  A national biennial prize to recognize achievement in poetry.

Caldecott Medal: Awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (American Library Association);  first awarded in 1938.  A national prize to recognize the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children;  one winner each year.

Cy Young Award: Awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America;  first awarded in 1956.  A national prize to recognize outstanding performance during a baseball season;  two winners each year (one from each league).

duPont Broadcast News Award: Awarded by Columbia University;  first awarded in 1942.  A national prize to recognize excellence in radio and television broadcasting (major, medium, and small market;  independent;  cable) and special achievement.

Emmy Award: Awarded by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences;  first awarded in 1949.  A national prize to recognize notable achievement in primetime programming (comedy, drama, miniseries, variety, movie), acting, directing, and writing, as well as daytime programming, acting, directing, and writing;  winners in numerous categories selected by their peers.

Enrico Fermi Award: Awarded by the President of the United States;  first awarded in 1954.  A national award to recognize outstanding scientific and technical achievement in atomic energy; single or joint winners each year.

Fields Medal: Awarded by the International Congress of Mathematicians;  first awarded in 1936.  An international award for outstanding achievement in mathematics.

Golden Globe Award: Awarded by the film critics of Foreign Press Association;  first awarded in 1944.  A national prize to recognize notable achievement in film and television acting, directing, writing, music, and lifetime achievement.

Grammy Award: Awarded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences;  first awarded in 1958.  A national prize to recognize outstanding performances in pop, rock, rap, jazz, country, opera, Latin, gospel, reggae, instrumental, and technical categories;  winners in numerous categories selected by their peers.

Heisman Memorial Trophy: Awarded by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York;  first awarded in 1935.  A national award to recognize the outstanding collegiate football player;  one winner each year.


James E. Sullivan Memorial Award: Awarded by the Amateur Athletic Union;  first awarded 1930.  A national award to recognize the outstanding amateur athlete;  one winner each year.

National Book Award: Awarded by the National Book Foundation;  first awarded 1950.  A national prize to recognize outstanding writing of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people's literature, and special contributions.

Newbery Medal: Awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (American Library Association);  first awarded in 1922.  A national prize to recognize the author of the best example of American literature for children;  one winner each year.

Nobel Prize: Funded by a bequest from Alfred Nobel (inventor of dynamite);  first awarded in 1901.  An international prize to recognize benefits to humanity in six categories: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economics.

MacArthur Foundation Award: Funded by the MacArthur Foundation;  first awarded in 1981.  A national prize to recognize and encourage independence, creativity, and problem solving in a wide range of disciplines;  multiple prizes each year.

Presidential Medal of Freedom: Awarded by the President of the United States;  first awarded in 1963.  A national prize to recognize meritorious service (seen in very broad terms);  number of recipients varies from year to year.

Pulitzer Prize: Funded by a bequest from Joseph Pulitzer (a newspaper publisher);  first awarded in 1917.  A national prize to recognize outstanding achievement in journalism, literature, and music.  Journalism awards in fourteen categories; literature awards in seven categories;  music awards in two categories.

Spingarn Medal: Awarded by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People;  first awarded in 1915.  A national prize to recognize notable achievement by a black American;  one winner a year.

Tony (Antoinette Perry) Award: Awarded by the American Theatre Wing;  first awarded in 1948.  A prize for outstanding achievement (Broadway Theater) in drama and musical theater, directing, acting, playwriting, composing, set and lighting design, and choreography.