He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1857 as one who was "Author of various papers on Slaty Cleavage; on the peculiarities of stratification due to the action of currents & their application to the investigation of the Physical Geography of ancient periods; on the microscopical structure of limestones and other peculiarities of the physical & chemical constitution of rocks. Distinguished for his acquaintance with the science of Geology.". He delivered their Bakerian Lecture in 1863 for his work "on the Direct Correlation of mechanical and Chemical Forces" and was awarded their Royal Medal in 1874. In 1892, Sorby was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.