The President's Medal is awarded annually by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

to up to five individuals or organisations. It is awarded for "outstanding service to the cause of the humanities and social sciences". It cannot be awarded to Fellows of the British Academy and was created to reward "academic-related activity rather than academic achievement alone". The medals were first awarded in 2010.

List of recipients

2010

On 25 November 2010, three individuals were awarded the President's Medal: *

Sarah Tyacke Sarah Jacqueline Tyacke, (''née'' Jeacock; born 29 September 1945) is an English historian of cartography and travel and a former librarian and archivist. From 1991 to 2005 she served as Keeper of Public Records and Chief Executive of the UK P ...

, Distinguished Research Fellow, School of Advanced Study, University of London, "for her service to historical records, in particular through her work as head of the National Archives" * Michael Worton, Vice Provost (Academic and International) and Fielden Professor of French Language and Literature, University College London, "for his leadership in addressing 'the languages deficit' among British university students" *

Peter Riddell Sir Peter John Robert Riddell (born 14 October 1948) is a British journalist and author. He worked for the ''Financial Times'' from 1970 to 1991. From April 2016 to September 2021 he served as the British government's Commissioner for Public App ...

, Institute for Government, "for an outstanding record as the producer of an informed picture of the inner workings of Whitehall, high politics and the party battle"

2011

In 2011, three individuals were awarded the President's Medal: * Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of the Barbican Centre *

Gillian Tett Gillian Tett (born 10 July 1967) is a British author and journalist at the ''Financial Times'', where she is chair of the editorial board and editor-at-large, US. She has written about the financial instruments that were part of the cause of the ...

, assistant editor, ''Financial Times'' * Sharon Witherspoon, Deputy Director of the Nuffield Foundation

2012

In 2012, four individuals were awarded the President's Medal: *

Warwick Gould Warwick Leslie Gould, (born 7 April 1947) is a literary scholar born in Sydney. He specializes in the Irish Literary Revival, particularly in the writings of W. B. Yeats, and in Textual Transmission studies and the History of the Book. Having st ...

, Institute of English Studies, University of London * Lord Harries of Pentregarth *

Lisa Jardine Lisa Anne Jardine (née Bronowski; 12 April 1944 – 25 October 2015) was a British historian of the early modern period. From 1990 to 2011, she was Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies and Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and ...

, University College London * Sir John Vickers, University of Oxford

2013

In 2013, four individuals were awarded the President's Medal: *

Shami Chakrabarti Sharmishta "Shami" Chakrabarti, Baroness Chakrabarti, (born 16 June 1969) is a British politician, barrister, and human rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, she served as the director of Liberty, a major advocacy group which promote ...

, Director of Liberty * Jean Coussins, Baroness Coussins, House of Lords * Sir Peter Stothard, editor of ''The Times Literary Supplement'' *

Lord Williams of Oystermouth Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the ...

, Magdalene College, Cambridge

2014

In November 2014, four individuals were awarded the President's Medal: *

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

, Centre International de Créations Théâtrales *

Sir Paul Collier Sir Paul Collier, (born 23 April 1949) is a British development economist who serves as the Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government and the director of the International Growth Centre. He currently is ...

, University of Oxford, "for his pioneering contribution in bringing ideas from research in to policy within the field of African economics" * Dame Jane Goodall, Jane Goodall Institute, "for her landmark contribution to, and impact on, our understanding of primate behaviours and human evolution as well as her work in youth engagement" * Clive James, "in recognition of ismajor contributions to Britain's cultural life"

2015

In September 2015, four individuals were awarded the President's Medal: * Peter Addyman, formerly York Archaeological Trust and Jorvik Viking Centre, "for his significant efforts in making archaeology and historic heritage accessible" *

Darren Henley Darren Richard Henley , born February 1973, is the Chief Executive of Arts Council England and an author of books about the arts. He is a member of the UK government's Creative Industries Council. Education He is a graduate of the University of ...

, Arts Council England, "for his contributions to music education, music research, and the arts" *

Elizabeth Livingstone Elizabeth Anne Livingstone (born on July 7, 1929) , also known as E. A. Livingstone, is an English Anglican theologian, specialising in patristics. Life Education She has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Oxford and a Lamb ...

, "for her editorial work on successive editions of a major dictionary and numerous international conferences" * Michael Wood, University of Manchester, "for his significant work in promoting the field of History"

2016

In September 2016, four individuals were awarded the President's Medal: *

Roger Bland Roger Farrant Bland, (born 3 April 1955) is a British curator and numismatist. At the British Museum, he served as Keeper of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure from 2005 to 2013, Keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europ ...

, University of Leicester, "for his contribution to the protection, and academic and public understanding, of Britain’s cultural heritage" *

Leofranc Holford-Strevens Leofranc Holford-Strevens (born 19 May 1946) is an English classical scholar, an authority on the works of Aulus Gellius, and a former reader for the Oxford University Press. He is married to the American musicologist Bonnie J. Blackburn. Car ...

, "for his significant work copy-editing hundreds of publications across a broad range of languages and disciplines" * Dame Hilary Mantel, "for her two historical novels on Thomas Cromwell, providing the public with a deep insight into the periods they portray" * Sir Stanley Wells, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, "for his lifetime service to the study, knowledge and enjoyment of William Shakespeare"

2017

On 27 September 2017, five individuals were awarded the President's Medal: *

James Stevens Curl James Stevens Curl (born 26 March 1937)Contemporary Authors, vols. 37–40, ed. Ann Every, Gale/Cengage Learning, 1979, p. 110 is an architectural historian, architect, and author with an extensive range of publications to his name. Early life an ...

, University of Ulster, "for his contribution to the study of the History of Architecture in Britain and Ireland" *

Claudia Hammond Claudia Anne Hammond (born 23 May 1971) is a British author, TV presenter, and frequent radio presenter on the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. Early life Hammond was born in the market town of Biggleswade in Bedfordshire on 23 May 1971, a ...

, Radio 4, "for her work in improving public understanding of psychology through broadcasting and writing for wider audiences" *

Katie Mitchell Katrina Jane Mitchell (born 23 September 1964) is an English theatre director. Life and career Mitchell was born in Reading, Berkshire, raised in Hermitage, Berkshire, and educated at Oakham School. Upon leaving Oakham, she went up to Mag ...

, "for her work to enhance the presentation of classic and contemporary theatre and opera through innovative new production" *

Helga Nowotny Helga Nowotny (born 1937) is Professor emeritus of Social Studies of Science, ETH Zurich. She has held numerous leadership roles on Academic boards and public policy councils, and she has authored many publications in the social studies of science ...

, ETH Zurich, "for her contribution to the founding and shaping of the European Research Council, and positively influencing the shape of research funding and research policy in the UK and Europe" * Jimmy Wales, Wikimedia Foundation, "for facilitating the spread of information via his work creating and developing Wikipedia, the world's largest free online enclyclopedia "

2018

On 20 August 2018, five individuals were awarded the President's Medal: *

Zeinab Badawi Zeinab Badawi ( ar, زينب بدوي; born October 1959) is a Sudanese-British television and radio journalist. She was the first presenter of the ''ITV Morning News'' (later known as '' ITV News at 5:30''), and co-presented ''Channel 4 News'' ...

, "for her contributions to international political journalism" * Dame Frances Cairncross, "for her contributions to economic journalism" * William Dalrymple, "for his literary achievements and for co-founding Jaipur Literary Festival" * Andreas Gestrich, "for his contribution to the study of German and Continental European History" * John Hemming, "for his work in the field of the colonial history and ethnography of Brazil and Peru, and the promotion of the protection of endangered societies"

2019

In 2019, one individual was awarded the President's Medal: *

Ben Goldacre Ben Michael Goldacre (born 20 May 1974) is a British physician, academic and science writer. He is the first Bennett Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine and director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science at the University of Oxford ...

2020

In 2020, one individual was awarded the President's Medal: * Margaret Atwood, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to literature

2021

In 2021, one individual was awarded the President's Medal: *

David Olusoga David Adetayo Olusoga (born January 1970) is a British historian, writer, broadcaster, presenter and film-maker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He has presented historical documentaries on the BBC and contrib ...

, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the humanities and social sciences

References

{{reflist, 30em Academic awards Humanities awards Social sciences awards