From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Balzan Prize
Balzan Prize
The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four ences (medicine and the physical, mathematical and nat-
annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who ural sciences), with an emphasis on innovative research.
have made outstanding achievements in the fields of hu- Every 3 to 5 years the foundation also awards the Prize
manities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeav- for humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples. It was
ours for peace and the brotherhood of man. last awarded in 2005 to the Community of Sant’Egidio.
Rewards and assets 2011 Award
Each year the foundation chooses the fields eligible for The 2011 Balzan prizes were announced in Milan on 5
the next year’s prizes, and determines the prize amount. September in the categories of:
These are generally announced in May, with the winners • Ancient History (The Graeco-Roman World): Peter
announced the September the following year. Since 2001 Brown (historian), Ireland
the prize money has increased to 1 million Swiss Francs • The Time of Enlightenment Studies: Bronisław
per prize, on condition that half the money is used for Baczko, Poland
projects involving young researchers. • Theoretical biology or bioinformatics: Russell Scott
The Balzan Prize committee comprises twenty mem- Lande, United States of America
bers of the prestigious learned societies of Europe. • The early Universe:(From the Planck time to the first
The assets behind the foundation were established by galaxies). Joseph Silk, United States of America/UK
the Italian Eugenio Balzan (1874–1953), a part-owner of
Corriere della Sera who had invested his assets in Switzer- The amount of each of the four Balzan Prizes will be
land and in 1933 had left Italy in protest against fascism. 750,000 Swiss Francs.
He left a substantial inheritance to his daughter Angela
Lina Balzan (1892–1956), who at the time was suffering an
incurable disease. Before her death, she left instructions
Recipients
for the foundation and since then it has two headquar- See also: List of Balzan Prize recipients
ters, the Prize administered from Milan, the Fund from Noted recipients are Pope John XXIII (1962), Andrey Kol-
Zurich. mogorov (1962), Paul Hindemith (1962), Jean Piaget
The first award was in fact 1 million Swiss Francs to (1979), Jorge Luis Borges (1980), Edward Shils (1983), Jan
the Nobel foundation in 1961. After 1962 a gap of 16 years Hendrik Oort (1984), Otto E. Neugebauer (1986), Em-
followed when prizes recommenced with an award of manuel Levinas (1989), Paul Ricoeur (1999), Abdul Sattar
half a million Swiss Francs to Mother Teresa. Award cer- Edhi (2000), Eric Hobsbawm (2003), Bruce A. Beutler
emonies alternate between Bern and the Accademia dei (2007), and Carlo Ginzburg (2010).
Lincei in Rome, and frequently winners have later won a All awards are decided by a single committee.
Nobel Prize.
See also
Categories • Prizes named after people
Four prizes have been awarded annually since 1978. The • List of Balzan Prize recipients
award fields vary each year and can be related to either
a specific or an interdisciplinary field. The prizes go be-
yond the traditional subjects both in the humanities (lit-
External links
erature, the moral sciences and the arts) and in the sci- • The Balzan Foundation - Official site
• List of Balzan prizewinners
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Balzan_Prize&oldid=458516598"
Categories:
• Awards established in 1961
• Science and engineering awards
• Peace awards
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Balzan Prize
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