The William H. Welch Medal is named in honor of a major American figure in the history of medicine and public health, who was among the first faculty at the Johns Hopkins medical school. The Medal was first presented in 1950, to Henry Sigerist, and is awarded to one or more authors of a book (excluding edited volumes) of outstanding scholarly merit in the field of medical history published during the five calendar years preceding the award. The Medal will be presented at the next annual meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine.