Stephen Hawking received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1985. The medal is one of the society’s highest honours and recognises outstanding contributions to astronomy or closely related scientific fields.
Hawking’s award reflected his pioneering work on black holes, cosmology and the relationship between general relativity and quantum theory. His prediction that black holes can emit thermal radiation—now called Hawking radiation—helped transform black holes from purely theoretical objects into subjects of deep physical investigation.
The award is sometimes confused with other major medals Hawking later received, including the Paul Dirac Medal in 1987 and the Copley Medal in 2006. He also shared the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics with Roger Penrose and received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
The Royal Astronomical Society’s 1985 Gold Medal was shared with Thomas Gold, an influential astronomer known for work on stellar systems, radio astronomy and the steady-state theory of cosmology.