Awards
The Saint Nicholas Society Medal of Merit
The Saint Nicholas Society is unique in that unlike other patriotic societies in New York, it was founded with the definite purpose of maintaining the traditions and furthering the development of the City of New York itself. With this in mind, it was proposed in 1934 that the Saint Nicholas Society award a medal annually to a person who, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, should have contributed significantly to bettering the welfare of the City.
Owing to the severity of the depression, however, no action was taken in the matter until 1937… Meanwhile, designs for the medal were drawn up by various jewelers and silversmiths, and Tiffany & Co. was authorized to cast the medal.
Excepted from Charter, Constitution, By-Laws and List of Members of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York, 1938
The Saint Nicholas Society’s Medal of Merit has been awarded to the following distinguished individuals:
1937 The Hon. Robert Moses
1938 The Hon. Thomas E. Dewey
1939 Archer M. Huntington
1940 The Hon. Winthrop W. Aldrich
1941 William Church Osborn
1942 Col. Arthur V. McDermott, USA
1943 Lt. Gen. Hugh A. Drum, USA
1944 The Hon. Lee Thompson Smith
1945 The Hon. Fiorello H. LaGuardia
1946 The Hon. Herbert L. Satterlee
1947 John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
1948 The Hon. George McAneny
1949 Judge Learned Hand
1950 Fairfield Osborn
1951 The Hon. Frank S. Hogan
1952 Howard S. Cullman
1953 Frederick H. Ecker
1954 Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.
1955 Clarence G. Michalis
1956 David Rockefeller
1957 The Hon. Myron C. Taylor
1958 Jeremiah Milbank
1959 Robert W. Dowling
1960 Cleveland E. Dodge
1961 Lee Blair Wood
1962 The Hon. J. Edward Lumbard
1963 James J. Rorimer
1964 Michael J. Murphy
1965 Whitney North Seymour
1966 Reginald T. Townsend
1967 James McNaughton Hester
1968 The Hon. John V. Lindsay
1969 Hoyt Ammidon
1970 The Hon. Bernard Botein
1971 Helen Hayes
1972 The Rt. Rev. Horace W. B. Donegan
1973 Joseph Papp
1974 The Hon. Francis T. P. Plimpton
1975 The Hon. C. Douglas Dillon
1976 Dr. William McGill
1977 John D. DeButts
1978 Thomas A. Murphy
1979 Walter Hoving
1980 Vincent Sardi
1981 The Rev. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
1982 Dr. Henry A. Kissinger
1983 James Levine
1984 The Hon. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
1985 Washington Irving (posthumous)
1986 Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
1987 Brooke Astor
1988 Thomas J. Watson, Jr.
1989 Hugh Bullock
1990 The Rev. Dr. David H. C. Read
1991 Daniel P. Davison
1992 The Rev. C. Hugh Hildesley
1993 Walter Cronkite
1995 John Elliott, Jr.
1996 Kenneth T. Jackson
1997 The Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Pike
1998 Henry Luce III
1999 Schuyler G. Chapin
2000 Henry J. Stern
2001 Damian van Cleef (Presented 2021)
2002 Eleanor Thomas Elliott
2003 William F. Baker
2004 Vartan Gregorian
2005 Marian S. Heiskell
2006 The Hon. William J. vanden Heuvel
2007 E. L. Doctorow
2008 Hope Bryce Preminger
2009 John L. Loeb, Jr.
2010 The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper
2012 The Hon. Thomas H. Kean
2013 Philippe de Montebello
2014 Gregory Long
2015 Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel
2016 Louise Mirrer
2017 Casey R. Kemper
2018 Adele Chatfield-Taylor
2019 Ian Wardropper
2020 The Hon. Jamie D. McCourt
2021 Edmund W. Gordon Jr.
2022 Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
