The Crafoord Prize was established by Holger Crafoord, the inventor of the artificial kidney and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord in 1980. Administered by the the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the aim of the prize is to promote basic research in mathematics, geoscience, bioscience (particularly in relation to ecology and evolution), astronomy, and polyarthritis .

Only one award is given each year. The prize is currently $500,000 US and is intended to fund further research by the prize winner. The prize is named after Holger Crafoord (1908-1982), a Swedish industrialist who donated the initial funds for the prize.

List of the Crafoord Prize winners:

• 1982 Mathematics: V. I. Arnold and L. Nirenberg
• 1983 Geoscience: E. N. Lorenz
• 1984 Bioscience: Daniel H. Janzen
• 1985 Astronomy: L. Spitzer, Jr.
• 1986 Geoscience: C. J. Allegre and G. J. Wasserburg
• 1987 Bioscience: E. P. and H. T. Odum
• 1988 Mathematics: P. Deligne and A. Grothendieck
• 1989 Astronomy: J. Van Allen
• 1990 Bioscience: P. R. Ehrlich and E. O. Wilson
• 1991 Astronomy: A. R. Sandage
• 1992 Bioscience: A. Seilacher
• 1993 Bioscience: W. D. Hamilton and Seymour Benzer
• 1994 Mathematics: S. Donaldson and S-T. Yau
• 1995 Geoscience: Willi Dansgaard and N. Shackleton
• 1996 Bioscience: Robert May
• 1997 Astronomy: F. Hoyle and E. E. Salpeter
• 1998 Geoscience: D. L. Anderson and A. M. Dziewonski
• 1999 Bioscience: E. Mayr, J. Maynard Smith, and G. C. Wiliams
• 2000 Bioscience: M. Feldmann and R. N. Maini
• 2001 Mathematics: A. Connes
• 2002 Geoscience: D. P. McKenzie
• 2003 Bioscience: C. R. Woese
• 2004 Polyarthritis: Eugene Butcher and Timothy Springer
• 2005 Astronomy: James Gunn , James Peebles, and Martin Rees