Stearn is considered a preeminent British botanist, and of equal stature with botanical scholars such as Robert Brown, Darwin, the Hookers (William and Joseph) and Frans Stafleu.[2][7] He has been variously described as a Renaissance man,[20] a polymath,[152] "the modern Linnaeus",[1][159] "the great Linnaean scholar of our day", [160] "one of the world's greatest botanists"[161] and a giant among botanists and horticulturalists.[11] On his death, The Times noted his encyclopedic grasp of his field, stating that he was "acknowledged as the greatest botanical authority of the twentieth century".[5] One description that Stearn rejected, however, was "the complete naturalist"[lower-alpha 29] – an allusion to the title of his biography of Linnaeus.[163] His contribution to his field was far greater than his extensive bibliography suggests, since he was known for his input into many of his colleagues' work, leading Professor P. B. Tomlinson to observe "he left no tome unstearned".[56] The Society for the History of Natural History of which he was a founding member has created the William T. Stearn Student Essay Prize in his honour.[2]