In 1923, the Priestley Medal, named for Joseph Priestley, was awarded for first time by the American Chemical Society to Ira Remsen “to recognize distinguished services to chemistry.” The award became the Society’s most prestigious award. 

The first recipient of the award, chemist Ira Remsen , co-discovered the artificial sweetener saccharin with Constantin Fahlberg. Remsen, a chemistry professor, became the second president of Johns Hopkins University, and founded the American Chemical Journal, which he edited from 1879 to 1914.