In 'bittersweet' ceremony, Hans Bethe is posthumously awarded
American Philosophical Society's Benjamin Franklin Medal

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Three days after his death, Nobel laureate Hans Bethe, emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University and an architect of the age of modern atomic theory, was posthumously awarded the 2005 Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences by the American Philosophical Society (APS).

The APS is the oldest learned society in the United States. The medal is the society's highest honor for lifetime achievement in the sciences.

The medal was presented to Bethe's widow, Rose, at their home in Ithaca, March 9, by APS president Frank H.T. Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell.

"This a very special occasion, and it is clearly for all of us a bittersweet day," said Rhodes in presenting the award. "It is a day of sorrow, but it is also a day of joy. It is a day of sadness, but it is also a day of pride. Because we remember a great life. A long life. A rich life, nobly and generously lived. I don't know how you do justice to all the greatness that is Hans Bethe," he said.

Accepting the award for her late husband, Rose Bethe said: "Hans was very touched when he heard about [receiving this award] because he thought that at his age to be honored once more was really beyond anything he had hoped for. He was particularly struck that the Philosophical Society was founded for the promotion of useful knowledge, because that's what he believed in."

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March05/BetheAward.bpf.html