Jewish World RecordsGlobal Registry of Jewish Achievement

Jewish Awards Records

This collection gathers every published, verified Jewish World Records entry in the Awards category, covering recognitions such as the Nobel Prize, Academy Awards, Emmy, GRAMMY, Tony and Pulitzer.

Each record is limited to the award and scope stated on its page and is supported by documented sources. Records join this page automatically once they are verified and published.

27 published verified records

Portrait of S. Y. Agnon in 1921

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Nobel PrizeFirst

First Hebrew-Language Writer to Win the Nobel Prize in Literature

Record holder

Record value

Nobel Prize in Literature, 1966

Shmuel Yosef Agnon became the first Hebrew-language writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, receiving the prize for 1966 on 10 December 1966. The award was given jointly to Agnon and the German-language poet Nelly Sachs. The official citation for Agnon commended him for his 'profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people'. Official records from the award ceremony speech acknowledge Agnon's progression from writing in Yiddish to establishing Hebrew as his principal literary language.

Country represented: Israel
Achievement location: Israel
Achievement date: 10 December 1966

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Portrait of mathematician Jesse Douglas around 1932.

JWR Verified

AwardsFirst

First Jewish Fields Medalist

Record holder

Record value

14 July 1936

Jesse Douglas became the first Jewish Fields Medalist when he received one of the two inaugural Fields Medals at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Oslo in 1936. Douglas shared the distinction of belonging to the first-ever Fields Medal cohort with Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors. The medals were presented at the opening session on 14 July 1936. Douglas was honored for major work in the calculus of variations and, above all, for solving the classical Plateau problem concerning the existence of minimal surfaces spanning a prescribed boundary. Because the Fields Medal did not exist before the 1936 Congress, no recipient could precede Douglas chronologically. JWR combines the International Mathematical Union’s official inaugural-medalist record with biographical sources documenting Douglas’s Jewish identity. The exact presentation date, 14 July 1936, is used as the record value.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Oslo, Norway, United States
Achievement date: 14 July 1936

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Herbert Bayard Swope speaking at Columbia University Journalism School, 7 December 1954

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Pulitzer PrizeFirst

First Jewish Person to Win a Pulitzer Prize

Record holder

Herbert Bayard Swope

Record value

4 June 1917

In 1916, New York World correspondent Herbert Bayard Swope returned to wartime Germany and reported a long series examining life and military conditions inside the German Empire. The Pulitzer Prizes awarded him the 1917 prize in Reporting for “Inside the German Empire,” making his work part of the very first Pulitzer Prize cycle and the first Pulitzer Prize for reporting. Because the Pulitzer Prizes began in 1917 and Swope was a personally named winner in that inaugural slate, he is the earliest verified Jewish individual to win a Pulitzer Prize under the JWR definition. His Jewish eligibility is independently documented through his German-Jewish parents, Isaac and Ida Swope, and the family's Reform Jewish identity.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: United States
Achievement date: 4 June 1917

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Albert A. Michelson seated at a desk, circa 1930

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Nobel PrizeFirst

First Jewish Person to Win the Nobel Prize in Physics

Record holder

Albert A. Michelson

Record value

10 December 1907

Albert A. Michelson, an American physicist, holds the record as the first Jewish person to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics. The award was presented in Stockholm, Sweden, on 1907-12-10. Official sources from NobelPrize.org confirm Michelson as the sole 1907 laureate in the Physics category, an honour bestowed for his 'optical precision instruments and spectroscopic and metrological investigations'.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Stockholm, Sweden
Achievement date: 10 December 1907

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Paul Ehrlich working in his laboratory, circa 1913

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Nobel PrizeFirst

First Jewish Person to Win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Record holder

Record value

10 December 1908

Paul Ehrlich became the "First Jewish person to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine" on 10 December 1908. The German physician and scientist received the award in Stockholm, Sweden, jointly with Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov. According to the official citation from NobelPrize.org, the prize was awarded “in recognition of their work on immunity.”

Country represented: Germany
Achievement location: Stockholm, Sweden
Achievement date: 10 December 1908

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Paul A. Samuelson

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Nobel PrizeFirst

First Jewish Recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

Record holder

Paul A. Samuelson

Record value

10 December 1970

Paul A. Samuelson received the 1970 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for work that reshaped modern economic theory. The prize had been created only a year earlier, making the predecessor universe unusually compact and auditable. Samuelson’s mathematical approach helped turn economics into a more rigorous analytical discipline, while his textbooks brought economic thinking to millions of students. Official Nobel chronology and independent Jewish biographical evidence together establish him as the first Jewish recipient of the prize. The record captures both a landmark in Jewish achievement and a pivotal moment in the history of twentieth-century economics.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Stockholm, United States
Achievement date: 10 December 1970

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Portrait of 1905 Nobel chemistry laureate Adolf von Baeyer.

JWR Verified

Awards · Nobel PrizeFirst

First Jewish Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Record holder

Adolf von Baeyer

Record value

10 December 1905

German chemist Adolf von Baeyer became the first Jewish recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1905. The prize was awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, for his significant work on organic dyes and hydroaromatic compounds. According to official Nobel Prize records, Baeyer was the sole laureate for Chemistry in that year, highlighting the individual importance of his scientific contributions. The record is valued as "Nobel Prize in Chemistry — 1905."

Country represented: Germany
Achievement location: Stockholm, Sweden
Achievement date: 1905

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Portrait of poet Marya Zaturenska in 1921.

JWR Verified

Awards · Pulitzer PrizeFirst

First Jewish Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Record holder

Marya Zaturenska

Record value

2 May 1938

Marya Zaturenska holds the record as the first Jewish recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, an achievement she secured in 1938 for her collection, 'Cold Morning Sky'. The prize was awarded in New York, New York, and official lists from The Pulitzer Prizes confirm her as the winner in the Poetry category for that year. Her position as the earliest qualifying Jewish recipient is based on a chronological review of all Pulitzer Poetry winners combined with biographical verification.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York, New York, United States
Achievement date: 2 May 1938

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Portrait of composer Kurt Weill.

JWR Verified

Awards · Tony AwardsFirst

First Jewish Recipient of the Tony Award for Original Musical Score

Record holder

Record value

Original Musical Score — Street Scene, 6 April 1947

Kurt Weill became the first Jewish recipient of the Tony Award for Original Musical Score at the inaugural ceremony on 6 April 1947. He was recognized for Street Scene, the Broadway work combining his score with Elmer Rice's dramatic book and lyrics by Langston Hughes and Rice. According to the official Tony Awards winner list, Weill won the category in 1947, the first year of the awards, leaving no earlier ceremony or earlier winner in that category. Born in Dessau, Germany, Weill grew up in a Jewish religious household, where his father served as a cantor. He later emigrated after the Nazi rise to power and developed a distinguished American musical-theatre career. His award marks a documented first in Broadway's award history and illustrates the contributions of Jewish composers to American musical theatre.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York, New York, United States
Achievement date: 6 April 1947

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Carl Djerassi

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

AwardsFirst

First Jewish Recipient of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry

Record holder

Record value

11 April 1978

Carl Djerassi received the inaugural Wolf Prize in Chemistry at the Knesset in Jerusalem on 11 April 1978. The Wolf Foundation recognized his work in bioorganic chemistry, the application of new spectroscopic techniques, and his support of international scientific cooperation. Djerassi had already transformed steroid chemistry and was widely known for work leading to the first oral contraceptive. Because the Wolf Prize in Chemistry began in 1978 and Djerassi was its sole chemistry laureate that year, he is the first recipient in the category and, with his Jewish identity independently documented, the first Jewish recipient. JWR uses the exact presentation date as the Record Value and keeps the broader award-year context in the evidence and story.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: United States
Achievement date: 11 April 1978

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Portrait of Jewish American actor Paul Muni.

JWR Verified

Awards · Academy AwardsFirst

First Jewish Winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor

Record holder

Record value

4 March 1937

Paul Muni became the "First Jewish Winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor" on 4 March 1937. The achievement was marked at the 9th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California, where he won the award for Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the film The Story of Louis Pasteur.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Achievement date: 4 March 1937

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Early portrait of Jewish American writer and screenwriter Ben Hecht.

JWR Verified

Awards · Academy AwardsFirst

First Jewish Winner of the Academy Award for Original Story

Record holder

Record value

16 May 1929

Ben Hecht became the first Jewish writer to win the Academy Award for Original Story on 16 May 1929. The achievement took place at the inaugural Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California, where he was honoured for the film 'Underworld' in the category of Writing (Original Story). Official records from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirm him as the winner. As this was the first time the award was presented, no earlier winner is possible.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Achievement date: 16 May 1929

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Publicity portrait of Phil Silvers for Top Banana.

JWR Verified

Awards · Tony AwardsFirst

First Jewish Winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical

Record holder

Record value

30 March 1952

American comic actor Phil Silvers holds the record as the first Jewish winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He received the honour on 30 March 1952 at the 6th Tony Awards ceremony in New York City. The award, officially titled "Actor (Musical)", was for his performance in the production Top Banana. Born Fischl Silver, he was the youngest of eight children in a Russian Jewish family.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York, New York, United States
Achievement date: 30 March 1952

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Portrait of Jewish American actor Paul Muni.

JWR Verified

Awards · Tony AwardsFirst

First Jewish Winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play

Record holder

Record value

1 April 1956

Paul Muni became the first Jewish winner of the Tony Award for Actor in a Play when he won for his performance as Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind at the 10th Tony Awards on 1 April 1956. The official Tony Awards archive lists Muni as the 1956 Actor (Play) winner and provides the chronological basis for reviewing earlier winners in the category. JWR’s counter-candidate review of the preceding winners found no earlier recipient verified as Jewish under the project’s eligibility standard. Muni’s Jewish identity is independently documented by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, which described him as a famous Jewish American actor and recorded his roots in a Yiddish-theatre family. The record therefore combines official award evidence, chronology and independent Jewish-eligibility evidence.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York, New York, United States
Achievement date: 1 April 1956

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Ada E. Yonath

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

AwardsFirst

First Jewish Woman Recipient of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry

Record holder

Record value

13 May 2007 — Shared with George Feher

Ada E. Yonath became the first woman to receive the Wolf Prize in Chemistry when she shared the 2006/7 award with George Feher. The prize was formally presented at the Knesset in Jerusalem on 13 May 2007. Yonath was honored for pioneering structural discoveries of the ribosomal machinery of peptide-bond formation, work that transformed structural biology and later contributed to her 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Institutional biographical sources document her Jewish family background, supporting JWR Jewish Eligibility at Achievement. JWR uses the exact ceremony date as the Record Value, while the 2006/7 award-cycle designation and shared-award context remain in the story and evidence. Yonath died on 31 August 2026 at age 87.

Country represented: Israel
Achievement location: Rehovot, Israel
Achievement date: 13 May 2007

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Barbara Liskov at the ACM Turing Centenary Celebration in 2012.

JWR Verified

AwardsFirst

First Jewish Woman to Receive the Turing Award

Record holder

Record value

27 June 2009

Barbara Liskov is recognized by JWR as the first Jewish woman to receive the Turing Award. The Association for Computing Machinery selected her as the recipient of the 2008 ACM A.M. Turing Award for foundational contributions to programming languages, data abstraction, fault tolerance and distributed computing. Although the award carries the year 2008, ACM announced Liskov as the recipient in March 2009, and she formally received the award at an ACM gathering in San Diego on 27 June 2009. That formal presentation date is therefore used as the Record Value. The full official name, ACM A.M. Turing Award, is retained in the definition and supporting evidence, while the public-facing title is shortened to the widely understood “Turing Award.”

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: San Diego, California, United States
Achievement date: 27 June 2009

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Norma Shearer receiving the Best Actress statuette at the 3rd Academy Awards in 1930

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Academy AwardsFirst

First Jewish Woman to Win an Oscar

Record holder

Record value

5 November 1930

Norma Shearer became the first Jewish woman to win a competitive Oscar on 5 November 1930. At the 3rd Academy Awards ceremony held in Los Angeles, she received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film The Divorcee. This achievement establishes the record for the "First competitive Academy Award won by a Jewish woman", as defined by the exclusion of nominations, honorary awards, or prizes credited only to a film entity.

Country represented: Canada
Achievement location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Achievement date: 5 November 1930

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Portrait of Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Nobel Memorial PrizeFirst

First Jewish Woman to Win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

Record holder

Record value

10 December 2023

Claudia Goldin became the "First Jewish woman to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences" upon her receipt of the award in Stockholm, Sweden, on 10 December 2023. As the sole recipient of the 2023 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, Goldin was recognised for having advanced the understanding of women’s labour-market outcomes. Her archival research reconstructed more than two centuries of women’s participation and earnings, showing how structural change, social expectations, and parenthood shaped the gender gap.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Stockholm, Sweden
Achievement date: 10 December 2023

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Richard Rodgers at the St. James Theatre in 1948

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · EGOTFirst

First Person to Achieve EGOT

Record holder

Richard Rodgers

Record value

First person to achieve competitive EGOT

Richard Rodgers became the "First person to achieve competitive EGOT" on 22 May 1962 in New York City. The record is defined as being the first person in history to win qualifying individual competitive Emmy, Grammy, Academy Award (Oscar), and Tony awards. Rodgers's achievement marks him as the first person to complete this set of four major American entertainment prizes, as verified by sources including Guinness World Records.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York City, New York, United States
Achievement date: 22 May 1962

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Barbra Streisand being congratulated after winning the Academy Award for Funny Girl in 1969

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · EGOTFirst

First Singer to Achieve an EGOT

Record holder

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand became the first singer to complete the EGOT under the inclusive definition that permits a non-competitive award. The four pillars were substantive achievements: her Grammy breakthrough included Album of the Year for The Barbra Streisand Album; her television debut My Name Is Barbra earned Emmy recognition; she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl; and on 19 April 1970 she received the special honorary Tony Award, Star of the Decade, completing the set. Guinness also notes her later Oscar for the song “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born).”

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York City, New York, United States
Achievement date: 19 April 1970

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Portrait of Isaac Bashevis Singer

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Nobel PrizeFirst

First Yiddish-Language Writer to Win the Nobel Prize in Literature

Record holder

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Record value

Nobel Prize in Literature, 1978

Isaac Bashevis Singer became the first Yiddish-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. The award recognized a body of fiction written principally in Yiddish and deeply rooted in the culture, folklore and moral conflicts of Polish Jewish life.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: United States
Achievement date: 10 December 1978

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Daniel Day-Lewis at the 1990 Academy Awards

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Academy AwardsMost

Most Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Actor Won by a Jewish Actor

Record holder

Daniel Day-Lewis

Record value

3 Academy Awards for Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis holds the record for the most Academy Awards for Best Actor won by a Jewish actor, with a total of "3 Academy Awards for Best Actor". The record was established on 24 February 2013, in Los Angeles, California, when he received his third Oscar in the Actor in a Leading Role category for his performance in the film 'Lincoln'. His previous wins were for 'My Left Foot' and 'There Will Be Blood'.

Country represented: United Kingdom
Achievement location: Los Angeles, California
Achievement date: 24 February 2013

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Alfred Newman

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Academy AwardsMost

Most Academy Awards (Oscars) Won by a Jewish Composer

Record holder

Record value

9 Academy Awards

Alfred Newman holds the record for the Most Academy Awards (Oscars) Won by a Jewish Composer, with a total of 9 Academy Awards. This figure represents the greatest number of competitive Academy Awards personally won for film-music work by an eligible composer. The achievement date for this record is 10 April 1968, the day Newman received his ninth Oscar at the 40th Academy Awards ceremony in Santa Monica, California. The award that completed his total was for the film 'Camelot'.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Santa Monica, California, United States
Achievement date: 10 April 1968

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Alfred Newman

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Academy AwardsMost

Most Academy Awards (Oscars) Won by a Jewish Person

Record holder

Record value

9 Academy Awards

American film composer, conductor, and arranger Alfred Newman holds the record for the most Academy Awards won by a Jewish person, with a career total of "9 Academy Awards". The achievement was established on 10 April 1968 when he received his ninth Oscar. This award was for his work on the film Camelot and was presented at the 40th Academy Awards ceremony in Santa Monica, California. The record measures the greatest number of personally credited competitive Academy Awards won by a single eligible individual across all categories.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Santa Monica, California, United States
Achievement date: 10 April 1968

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Portrait of Sir Georg Solti in London, 1975.

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · GRAMMY AwardsMost

Most Grammy Awards Won by a Jewish Person

Record holder

Sir Georg Solti

Record value

31 competitive GRAMMY Awards

Sir Georg Solti holds the record for the "Most Grammy Awards Won by a Jewish Person" with a total of "31 competitive GRAMMY Awards". This figure, based on official Recording Academy credits, represents competitive wins personally credited to him and excludes non-competitive honours such as the Trustees Award and Lifetime Achievement Award he also received. His 31st and final competitive award was received posthumously at the 40th Annual GRAMMY Awards on 25 February 1998.

Country represented: United Kingdom
Achievement date: 25 February 1998

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Harold Prince receiving the Golden Plate Award from Toni Morrison in 2007

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Tony AwardsMost

Most Tony Awards Won in Multiple Categories by a Jewish Individual

Record holder

Record value

21 Tony Awards across multiple categories

Harold Prince holds the record for the most Tony Awards won in multiple categories by an individual, with a total of 21 Tony Awards across multiple categories. The achievement was finalised on 11 June 2006, in New York City, when Prince received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, which brought his documented total to the record-setting number.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York City, New York, United States
Achievement date: 11 June 2006

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Marlee Matlin photographed in Arizona in 1989, two years after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Awards · Academy Awardsyoungest

Youngest Academy Award Winner for Best Actress

Record holder

Record value

21 years and 218 days

Marlee Matlin holds the record as the Youngest Oscar Winner for Best Actress, an achievement she secured on 30 March 1987 in Los Angeles, California. At the 59th Academy Awards, Matlin was officially 21 years and 218 days old when she won the competitive Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Children of a Lesser God. Her win was notable not only for her age but also because she became the first deaf woman to win an acting Oscar.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Achievement date: 30 March 1987

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