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Musgrave Medal

Musgrave Medal Awards

Did you know the Musgrave Medal Awards have recognised outstanding contributions by Jamaicans to science since 1907?

The Musgrave Medal Award is awarded by the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) in recognition of achievement in art, science and literature. One of the oldest such awards in the Western Hemisphere, it was conceived in 1889 and named in memory of Sir Anthony Musgrave, the founder of the Institute (1879) and the former Governor of Jamaica (1877 – 1883) who had died the previous year. The medal was designed by British sculptor, Alfred Toft and features the image of Sir Anthony Musgrave.

Originally, the medals were awarded as prizes in IOJ cultural competitions with the first medal being awarded for science in 1907. The medals are awarded in categories of gold, silver and bronze (and "special" for non-Jamaicans) but the first gold medal was not awarded until 1941 and the first Gold medal for a Jamaican scientist was awarded to Dr. Alfred Sangster in 1988. Although the awards are usually made annually, there are many years in which no awards are made and it is considered a significant honour to be conferred with a Musgrave Medal Award.

See the List of Musgrave Medal Awardees for eminence in Science  
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Mr. Percival A. Benjamin

The founder of PA Benjamin, a household name in Jamaica for pharmaceuticals such as bay rum and condiments such as vanilla, Percival Austin (PA) Benjamin (1862 - 1928) was born in St. Mary. A young entrepreneur, he started "Benjamins' Jamaica Healing Oil Factory" in 1879 with a large array of his own bottled preparations and teas, concocted through the young apothecary's knowledge of medicine. Unfortunately, he had funding problems and had to close the factory due to bankruptcy. Determined as ever he took a job as Manager of a drug & grocery store in Port Maria, eventually buying out the pharmaceutical side of the business and starting again this time as Benjamin's Jamaica Medicines. He moved the factory and business to Kingston in 1901 and continued to expand. The savvy young businessman soon recognised the marketing potential of making his products available to Jamaicans abroad and, in a stroke of marketing genius set out to acquire customers, among them Jamaicans at work on the construction of the Panama Canal. Benjamins’ aggressive salesmanship led to the infiltration of markets throughout the Caribbean, markets which the company has managed to retain and systematically expand upon. Tragedy struck again with the 1907 earthquake and fire, but he built back better and continued to expand and improve. In 1926, his flagship brand, Jamaica Healing Oil became the first Jamaican product to obtain a US patent. Although Mr. PA Benjamin died in 1928 - the company, PA Benjamin is now the oldest drug manufacturing company in Jamaica, making Mr. Percival A Benjamin one of Jamaica's Science Icons.

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