Richard Dawkins

== Awards and recognition ==

[[File:Deschner Dawkins.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Receiving the [[Giordano Bruno Foundation#Deschner Award|Deschner Prize]] in [[Frankfurt]], 12 October 2007, from [[Karlheinz Deschner]]]]

He holds [[honorary degree|honorary doctorates]] in science from the [[University of Huddersfield]], [[University of Westminster]], [[Durham University]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Durham salutes science, Shakespeare and social inclusion |url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/allnews/?itemno=3972 |work=Durham University News |date=26 August 2005 |access-date=11 April 2006 |archive-date=3 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203181748/http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/allnews/?itemno=3972 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[University of Hull]], the [[University of Antwerp]], the [[University of Oslo]], the [[University of Aberdeen]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vcs.abdn.ac.uk/news/details-4924.php |title=Best-selling biologist and outspoken atheist among those honoured by University |date=1 September 2011 |access-date=1 January 2012 |publisher=University of Aberdeen |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901041512/http://vcs.abdn.ac.uk/news/details-4924.php |archive-date=1 September 2011}}</ref> [[Open University]], the [[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]],<ref name=cv/> and the [[University of Valencia]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Richard Dawkins, doctor 'honoris causa' per la Universitat de València |url=http://www.uv.es/~webuv/noticies/noticia.php?idnoticia=7165 |date=31 March 2009 |access-date=2 April 2009 |publisher=[[University of Valencia]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011191110/http://www.uv.es/~webuv/noticies/noticia.php?idnoticia=7165 |archive-date=11 October 2011 |url-status=dead}} Note: web page is in Spanish.</ref> He also holds honorary doctorates of letters from the [[University of St Andrews]] and the [[Australian National University]] (HonLittD, 1996), and was elected Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Literature]] in 1997 and a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 2001|Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2001]].<ref name=frs/><ref name=cv/> He is one of the patrons of the [[Oxford University Scientific Society]].

In 1987, Dawkins received a [[Royal Society of Literature]] award and a ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' Literary Prize for his book ''The Blind Watchmaker''. In the same year, he received a Sci. Tech Prize for Best Television Documentary Science Programme of the Year for his work on the BBC's ''[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]]'' episode ''The Blind Watchmaker''.<ref name=cv/>

In 1996, the [[American Humanist Association]] gave him their Humanist of the Year Award, but the award was withdrawn in 2021, with the statement that he "demean[ed] marginalized groups", including [[transgender]] people, using "the guise of scientific discourse".<ref>{{cite web |title=American Humanist Association Board Statement Withdrawing Honor from Richard Dawkins |url=https://americanhumanist.org/news/american-humanist-association-board-statement-withdrawing-honor-from-richard-dawkins/ |date=19 April 2021 |access-date=20 April 2021 |publisher=American Humanist Association}}</ref><ref name="Flood-2021">{{Cite web|date=20 April 2021|title=Richard Dawkins loses 'humanist of the year' title over trans comments|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/20/richard-dawkins-loses-humanist-of-the-year-trans-comments|access-date=20 April 2021|first=Alison|last=Flood|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

Other awards include the [[Zoological Society of London]]'s [[Silver Medal (Zoological Society of London)|Silver Medal]] (1989), the Finlay Innovation Award (1990), the [[Michael Faraday Award]] (1990), the Nakayama Prize (1994), the fifth [[International Cosmos Prize]] (1997), the [[Kistler Prize]] (2001), the [[Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic]] (2001), the 2001 and 2012 Emperor Has No Clothes Award from the [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]], the Bicentennial Kelvin Medal of [[The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow]] (2002),<ref name=cv/> the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] (2006),<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration|access-date=9 July 2020|archive-date=15 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Nierenberg Prize]] for Science in the Public Interest (2009).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=967 |title=Scripps Institution of Oceanography Honors Evolutionary Biologist, Richard Dawkins, in Public Ceremony and Lecture |access-date=7 April 2009 |author=Scripps Institution of Oceanography |date=7 April 2009 |publisher=Scripps Institution of Oceanography |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719202306/http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=967 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was awarded the [[Giordano Bruno Foundation#Deschner Award|Deschner Award]], named after German anti-clerical author [[Karlheinz Deschner]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hpd-online.de/node/2010 |title=Deschner-Preis an Richard Dawkins |access-date=4 April 2008 |first=Giordano Bruno |last=Stiftung |date=28 May 2007 |publisher=Humanistischer Pressedienst |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719042744/http://hpd.de/node/2010 |archive-date=19 July 2011}} Note: Web page in German.</ref> The [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (CSICOP) has awarded Dawkins their highest award ''In Praise of Reason'' (1992).<ref name="Dallas 1992">{{cite journal |title=CSICOP's 1992 Awards |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=1993 |volume=17 |issue=3 |page=236}}</ref>

[[File:Richard Dawkins speaking at the British Humanist Association Annual Conference.jpg|thumb|left|Dawkins accepting the Services to Humanism award at the British Humanist Association Annual Conference in 2012]]
Dawkins topped ''[[Prospect (magazine)|Prospect]]'' magazine's 2004 list of the top 100 public British intellectuals, as decided by the readers, receiving twice as many votes as the runner-up.<ref>{{cite news |title=Q&A: Richard Dawkins |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3935757.stm |work=BBC News |date=29 July 2004 |access-date=9 March 2008 |archive-date=21 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021092752/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3935757.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2004/08/publicintellectualspoll/ |title=Public Intellectuals Poll |access-date=9 March 2008 |last=Herman |first=David |year=2004 |work=Prospect |archive-date=6 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106105034/http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2004/08/publicintellectualspoll/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He was shortlisted as a candidate in their 2008 follow-up poll.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2008/04/19/the-top-100-public-intellectuals-bios/ |title=The Top 100 Public Intellectuals |access-date=22 April 2008 |work=Prospect |date=19 April 2008 |archive-date=26 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226161632/http://foreignpolicy.com/2008/04/19/the-top-100-public-intellectuals-bios/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a poll held by ''Prospect'' in 2013, Dawkins was voted the world's top thinker based on 65 names chosen by a largely US and UK-based expert panel.<ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Dugdale |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/apr/25/richard-dawkins-named-top-thinker |title=Richard Dawkins named world's top thinker in poll |date=25 April 2013 |access-date=26 April 2013 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112212108/http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/apr/25/richard-dawkins-named-top-thinker |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2005, the [[Hamburg]]-based [[Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S.|Alfred Toepfer Foundation]] awarded him its [[Shakespeare Prize]] in recognition of his "concise and accessible presentation of scientific knowledge". He won the [[Lewis Thomas Prize|Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science]] for 2006, as well as the [[Galaxy British Book Awards]]'s Author of the Year Award for 2007.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Publishing News |url=http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/pnbb_winners2007.asp?#3 |title=Galaxy British Book Awards&nbsp;– Winners & Shortlists |year=2007 |access-date=21 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927130727/http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/pnbb_winners2007.asp#3 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the same year, he was listed by ''Time'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616137,00.html |title=Time Top 100 |access-date=2 March 2008 |last=Behe |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Behe |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|TIME]] |date=3 May 2007 |archive-date=14 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314061433/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616137,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was ranked 20th in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''{{'s}} 2007 list of 100 greatest living geniuses.<ref>{{cite news |title=Top 100 living geniuses |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=28 October 2007 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567544/Top-100-living-geniuses.html |access-date=4 October 2010 |location=London |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803031241/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567544/Top-100-living-geniuses.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since 2003, the [[Atheist Alliance International]] has awarded a prize during its annual conference, honouring an outstanding atheist whose work has done the most to raise public awareness of atheism during that year; it is known as the [[Richard Dawkins Award]], in honour of Dawkins's own efforts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html |title=The atheist |work=Salon |date=30 April 2005 |first=Gordy |last=Slack |access-date=3 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704233721/http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html |archive-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> In February 2010, Dawkins was named to the [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]]'s Honorary Board of distinguished achievers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ffrf.org/news/releases/honorary-ffrf-board-announced/ |title=Honorary FFRF Board Announced |access-date=20 August 2008 |publisher=[[Freedom From Religion Foundation]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217052917/http://ffrf.org/news/releases/honorary-ffrf-board-announced/ |archive-date=17 December 2010}}</ref>

In 2012, a [[Sri Lanka]]n team of [[ichthyology|ichthyologists]] headed by [[Rohan Pethiyagoda]] named a new [[genus]] of freshwater fish ''[[Dawkinsia]]'' in Dawkins's honor. (Members of this genus were formerly members of the genus ''[[Puntius]]'').<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEvNbHt8O7e3jB5HlC2uwNrSQvpQ?docId=CNG.2417bf61f21b75ec00dacc78e05295ae.341 |title=Sri Lankans name new fish genus after atheist Dawkins |access-date=16 July 2012 |work=Google News |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |date=15 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521022747/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEvNbHt8O7e3jB5HlC2uwNrSQvpQ?docId=CNG.2417bf61f21b75ec00dacc78e05295ae.341 |archive-date=21 May 2013}}</ref>