Since its inception in 1901, numerous Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the Society have been awarded the Nobel Prize. The first two recipients were Honorary Fellows Hendrik A Lorentz and Pieter Zeeman in 1902 for the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Society's first women winner was Honorary Fellow Marie Curie in 1903 for the Nobel Prize in Physics. Marie Curie was the first person to win or share two Nobel Prizes, being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911.
In 1964, Dorothy Hodgkin became not only the first female Fellow of the Society to win a Nobel Prize (Chemistry) but also the first female member of the University of Cambridge to do so. The Nobel Prize is one of many prestigious awards in the field of science that our members have been awarded and these include; The Copley Medal, The Royal Medal, The Dalton Medal, The Lomonosov Gold Medal, Max Planck Medal, The Goethe Prize, The Dirac Medal, The Eddington Medal, and the Albert Einstein Award to name but a few.
We currently have 49 Nobel Prize winners.
2019 | Physiology or Medicine Honorary Fellow
2017 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Honorary Fellow
2020 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
2010 | Nobel Prize in Medicine Fellow
2009 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Honorary Fellow
2002 | Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine Honorary Fellow
2002 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Honorary Fellow
2001 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Honorary Fellow
1997 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Honorary Fellow
1991 | Nobel Prize for Physics Honorary Fellow
1983 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1982 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1979 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1977 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1977 | Nobel Prize in Economics Fellow
1974 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1967 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1967 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Honorary Fellow
1964 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1963 | Nobel Prize in Medicine Fellow
1962 | Nobel Prize in Medicine Fellow
1962 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1960 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Honorary Fellow
1957 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1954 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1952 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1951 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1948 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1947 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1937 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1935 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1933 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1932 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Fellow
1929 | Nobel Prize in Medicine Fellow
1928 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1927 | Nobel Prize in Physics Honorary Fellow
1927 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1922 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1922 | Nobel Prize in Physics Honorary Fellow
1919 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Honorary Fellow
1918 | Nobel Prize in Physics Honorary Fellow
1915 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1908 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry Fellow
1906 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1904 | Nobel Prize in Physics Fellow
1903 | Nobel Prize in Physics Honorary Fellow
1902 | Nobel Prize in Physics Honorary Fellow
From Darwin’s paper on evolution to the development of stem cell research, publications from the Society continue to shape the scientific landscape.
Mathematical Proceedings is one of the few high-quality journals publishing original research papers that cover the whole range of pure and applied mathematics, theoretical physics and statistics.
Biological Reviews covers the entire range of the biological sciences, presenting several review articles per issue. Although scholarly and with extensive bibliographies, the articles are aimed at non-specialist biologists as well as researchers in the field.
The Spirit of Inquiry celebrates the 200th anniversary of the remarkable Cambridge Philosophical Society and brings to life the many remarkable episodes and illustrious figures associated with the Society, including Adam Sedgwick, Mary Somerville, Charles Darwin, and Lawrence Bragg.
Become a Fellow of the Society and enjoy the benefits that membership brings. Membership costs £20 per year.
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In the millennium poll, James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was voted the third greatest physicist of all time – behind Newton and Einstein. He is best known for his equations of electromagnetism and thermodynamic relations, but his interests and achievements extended far beyond these fields. His profound insights across many extraordinarily diverse areas have laid the foundations for much of contemporary physical science.
The day will begin with an overview of James Clerk Maxwell’s life and achievements. The talks following will focus on just a few of the fields where he did seminal work, and in which current research is revealing interesting developments.
There will be a small exhibition of artefacts including some of Maxwell’s models from the Cavendish collection. The exhibition catalogue can be found here
James Clerk Maxwell had strong links with the Cambridge Philosophical Society during his time at Cambridge. He studied mathematics as an undergraduate – initially at Peterhouse, but moving to Trinity before the end of his first term. He graduated in 1854, and shortly afterwards presented his first paper On the transformation of surfaces by bending to the Cambridge Philosophical Society. His career took him to Aberdeen, King’s College London and ther family estates at Glenlair before returning to Cambridge in 1871 to become the first Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics. He was President of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 1875-1877. In 1879 he died in Cambridge at the age of 48.
Please Note: Due to building works, the CPS office at 17 Mill Lane, Cambridge is now closed until further notice. Business operations as usual. Please contact us by email only: philosoc@group.cam.ac.uk
Cambridge Philosophical Society17 Mill LaneCambridgeCB2 1RXUnited Kingdom
Office Hours: (Temporarily closed)Monday and Thursday -10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm.
philosoc@group.cam.ac.uk