The Wilder Medal

is awarded to individuals or organizations for distinguished service and contributions to the advancement of pomological science and for outstanding fruit varieties.

 

Wilder Medal Recipients 1873 to 2006 *

1873	Clapp Favorite Pear
1875	Marshall P. Wilder - For founding and building the society. Patrick Barry - For valuable service to the society as chairman of the fruit committee. Thomas P. James - For faithful service as treasurer of the society. John J. Thomas - For designing the Wilder Medal.
1881	Robert Manning - For long and valued service in the cause of American pomology.
1885	Professor William J. Beal - For valuable services as secretary of the society.
1911	Lue Gim Gong Orange - Glen Saint May Mury Company Deland, FL.
1913	Goudeau Orange - L.A. Goudeau, Lake Charles, LA. Branch Apple - James. M. Hoge, Virginia (Bronze medal).
1915	Hubbard Grape - T. S. Hubbard Company, Fredonia, NY.
1917	Turley Winesap Apple - Joseph A. Burton, Mitchell, IN.
1919	Golden Delicious Apple - Stark Bros. Nursery & Orchard Company Louisiana, MO.
1921	Dr. Liberty Hyde Bailey - For his notable contributions to horticulture and his work for the society.
1923	Lobo Apple - Central Experimental Farm Ottawa, Ontario. Cortland Apple - New York State Agriculture Experiment Station, Geneva, NY.
1926	Starking Apple - Stark Bros. Nursery & Orchard Company Louisiana, MO.
1927	University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm - Noteworthy achievement in breeding hardy fruits, of which 32 seedlings have been named and introduced out of a total of 80,500 tested and represented at meeting by 69 plates of 39 seedling apples. Sheridan Grape - New York State Agriculture Experiment Station, Geneva, NY. Melba Apple - Central Experimental Farm Ottawa, Ontario. June Raspberry - New York State Agriculture Experiment Station, Geneva, NY (Bronze medal).
1929	Professor N. E. Hansen - For Plant Exploration. Professor W. T. Macoun - For Developing Cold Hardy Fruits. Howard Seventeen or Premier Stawberry - Everett C. Howard Belchertown, MA. Young Dewberry - B. M. Young, Morgan City, LA.
1939	USDA 814 Pecan - USDA (Bronze medal).
1947	Maurice A. Blake - New Jersey. Peach breeder. New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY - For Origination and Introduction of Meritorious Varieties of Fruit
1948	Liberty H. Bailey - Cornell. Plant explorer, writer, horticulturist. William H. Chandler - California. Research in pomology & hort. publications. George M. Darrow - USDA. Fruit breeding, especially blueberries & strawberries. Ezra J. Kraus - Oregon. & University of Chicago. Economic botany, morphology & physiology. Horticulture Experiment Station, Vineland, Canada -Origination of fruit varieties. Ruby grapefruit - Outstanding red-fleshed grapefruit.
1949	Frank C. Reimer - USDA, Oregon. Pear breeding. University of Minnesota. Fruit Breeding Farm - Origination of fruit varieties.
1950	H. Howard Hume - Florida. Subtropical & tropical horticulture. Archibald D. Shamel - California. Introduction of tropical & subtropical fruits, mutations. Jacob K. Shaw - Massachusetts. Identification of fruit tree varieties by leaf characteristics. Henry P. Stuckey - Georgia. Muscadine grape breeding & pecan culture.
1951	Stanley Johnston - Michigan. Breeding peaches and blueberries. Richared apple - Custody of Louis Richardson, Manitou, Washington. Central Experiment Farm, Ottawa, Canada - Fruit breeding research.
1952	Eugene C. Auchter - USDA. Pollination biology, horticultural writer, administrator. Elizabeth White - New Jersey. Blueberry breeding and introduction. Louisiana Agriculture Experiment Station – Klonmore strawberry.
1953	Maxwell J. Dorsey - Illinois. Peach breeding. Samuel Fraser - Cornell & American Apple Inst. Apple promotion, new fruit varieties. George F. Potter - New Hampshire & USDA. Winter hardiness, tung genetics & physiology. USDA. Origination of meritorious varieties of peaches.
1954	Paul H. Shepard - Missouri. Peach, apple and grape breeding. Richard Wellington - New York. Fruit breeding & evalution, pollination. California Agriculture Experiment Station. Origination of strawberry varieties.
1955	William H. Alderman - Minnesota. Breeding of hardy fruits. Frederick W. Popenoe - USDA. Plant explorer, tropical & subtropical horticulture.
1956	John R. Magness - USDA. Physiology, nutrition, water relation, administration. Elmer Snyder - California. Grape breeding & resistant rootstocks. Harold B. Tukey - New York & Michigan. Morphology of fruits, size-controlling rootstocks.
1957	W.W. Magill - Kentucky. Outstanding extension horticulturist. Edmund F. Palmer - Vineland, Canada. Breeding fruits, esp. peaches. Warren P. Tufts - California. Pollination & morphology of deciduous fruits. Albert F. Yeager - North Dakota & New Hampshire. Breeding and genetics of fruits.
1958	Cecil L. Burkholder - Indiana. Variety evaluation, pollination. Victor R. Gardner - Oregon & Michigan. Pollination, fruit set & mutation studies. Henry Hartman - Oregon. Post-harvest physiology, esp. of pears. Ralph A. Van Meter - Massachusetts. Systematic pomologist and administration.
1959	Malcolm B. Davis - Ottawa, Canada. Nutrition and low temperature research. Harold P. Olmo - California. Grape breeding, cytogenetics. New Fruit Register. Thomas J. Talbert - Missouri. Fruit tree rootstocks & nutrition. N.Y. Fruit Testing Association - Geneva, New York. Promotion of new fruit varieties.
1960	Arthur P. French - Massachusetts. Nursery identification of fruit trees by leaf characters.
1961	Richard P. White - American Association of Nurserymen, Washington D.C. Horticultural promotion.
1962	Robert W. Hodgson - California. Subtropical & tropical horticulture., international service. Leif Verner - Idaho. Posthumous. Breeding, training, thinning, water relations. USDA - Development of virus-free strawberries.
1963	No recipients.
1964	Frank P. Cullinan - USDA. Administration, peach breeding & physiology.
1965	No recipients.
1966	Laurence H. MacDaniel - Cornell. Pollination, fruit anatomy & morphology. Howard B. Frost - California. Citrus breeding and cytogenetics.
1967	No recipients.
1968	Reid M. Brooks - California. Posthumous. Flower & fruit morphology. New Fruit Register. George L. Slate - New York. Breeding strawberry, raspberry, blackberry.
1969	Fred W. Anderson - California. Breeding nectarines, peach, plum, almond. John H. Weinberger - California. Breeding peach, apricot, plum.
1970	Joseph R. Furr - California. Breeding and water relations of citrus. George Oberle - Virginia. Breeding peach, nectarine, apple and grape. George F. Waldo - Oregon. Breeding strawberry, blackberry and red raspberry.
1971	No recipients.
1972	Paul Stark Sr. - Missouri. Nurseryman, development of dwarfing rootstocks.
1973	O.A. Bradt - Ontario. Breeding peaches and apricots.
1974	Robert F. Carlson - Michigan. Breeding apple rootstocks.
1975	Chester D. Schwartze - Washington. Rubus breeding. Ralph H. Sharpe - Florida. Peach breeding.
1976	Franklin Correll - North Carolina. Peach breeding.
1977	Donald H. Scott - Maryland. Strawberry breeding. W.A. Luce - Washington. Fruit Agent, orchard consultant and Contributing Editor to Goodfruit Grower.
1978	L. Fredrick Hough - New Jersey. Peach, apple and pear breeding. Harold W. Fogle - Maryland. Peach, apricot and cherry breeding.
1979	Royce S. Bringhurst - California. Strawberry breeding.
1980	Melvin N. Westwood - Oregon. Teacher, author and researcher of apples and pears.
1981	Frank Street - Kentucky. Peach grower and host of annual peach pruning demonstrations.
1982	Jim Moore - Arkansas. Peach, blackberry and grape breeding. Roger Way - New York. Apple, cherry and elderberry breeding.
1983	Gene Galletta - USDA, Maryland. Strawberry breeding. Don Fisher - British Columbia. Fruit researcher, administrator and author.
1984	Victor Prince - USDA, Georgia. Peach breeding. W.D. Armstrong - Kentucky. Extension Specialist. Outstanding fruit extension work.
1985	Roy Rom - Arkansas. Rootstock research. Roy Simons - Illinois. Fruit anatomy.
1986	Hugh Daubeny - Agriculture Canada, British Columbia. Small fruit breeding. Wallace Heuser - Michigan. Nurseryman. Fruit variety development.
1987	No recipients.
1988	Francis J. (Whitey) Lawrence - Oregon. Strawberry and raspberry breeding. Robert E. Lamb - New York. Disease resistant apple breeding. Grady Auvil - Washington. Fruit grower
1989	Catherine Bailey - New Jersey. Peach, nectarine, and apple breeding.
1990	Don Craig - Nova Scotia, Canada. Strawberry breeding.
1991	Norm Childers - New Jersey and Florida. Fruit research and teaching. Elwyn Meader - New Hampshire. Development of cold-hardy fruits.
1992	K.O. Lapins - Agriculture Canada, British Columbia. Cherry breeding.
1993	Wayne B. Sherman - University of Florida. Peach and nectarine breeding.
1994	James Cummins - New York. Apple rootstock breeding. Elizabeth Keep - East Malling, England. Rubus breeding and genetics.
1995	Floyd Zaiger - Zaiger Genetics, Modesto, California. Stone fruit breeding.
1996	Jules Janick - Purdue University. Fruit breeding. R.E.C. Layne - Agriculture Canada, Ontario, Canada. Stone fruit breeding.
1997	Arlen Draper - USDA, Maryland. Small fruit breeding. Derek Jennings - Scottish Horticulture Research Institute, Scotland, UK. Small fruit breeding.
1998	Jim Ballington - North Carolina State University Small fruit breeding.
1999	John Maas - USDA-Beltsville, MD. Small fruit breeding.
2000	Silviero Sansavini - University of Bologna, Italy.
2001	Loren D. Tukey - Pennsylvania. Posthumous Penn. State University.
2002	Maxine M. Thompson - Oregon State University. Hazelnut Breeding and Germplasm Exploration.
2003	John Clark - University of Arkansas
2004	Harvey Quamme - Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, Summerland, British Columbia
2005	Schuyler Korban - University of Illinois. Outstanding contributions to pomology.
2006	David Curtis Ferree - The Ohio State University in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the evaluation of fruit rootstocks and varieties.

* Wilder recipients prior to 1947 provided by R. Crassweller.
page last updated 7 March, 2007