Samuel Heinrich Schwabe (25 October 1789 – 11 April 1875) was a German amateur astronomer remembered for his work on sunspots.

After about three years he began to study at the University of Berlin training in pharmacy under Martin Heinrich Klaproth and Sigismund Friedrich Hermbstädt.

For 17 years, from 1826 to 1843, on every clear day, Schwabe would scan the Sun and record its spots trying to detect any new planet among them.

[3] In it he made the suggestion of a probable ten-year period (i.e. that at every tenth year the number of spots reached a maximum).

This paper at first attracted little attention, but Rudolf Wolf who was at that time the director of Bern observatory, was impressed so he began regular observations of sunspots.

The medal was presented by Richard Carrington in Dessau and the honor influenced Schwabe to bequeath his notes to the Royal Astronomical Society which elected him as a member in 1868.