The Leeuwenhoek Medal, established in 1877 by the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences in honor of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, is granted every ten years to the scientist judged to have made the most significant contribution to microbiology during the preceding decade.
The Leeuwenhoek Medal winners have been:
- 1877 Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, Germany
- 1885 F. Cohn, Poland
- 1895 Louis Pasteur, France
- 1905 Martinus W. Beijerinck, Netherlands
- 1915 Sir D. Bruce, United Kingdom
- 1925 Félix d’Herelle, (at the time) Egypt
- 1935 S. Nikolaevitch Winogradsky, France
- 1950 S.A. Waksman, United States
- 1960 A. Lwoff, France
- 1970 C.B. van Niel, United States
- 1981 R.Y. Stanier, France
- 1992 Carl Woese, United States
- 2003 Karl Stetter