The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, is one of the seven American

Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history of the United States. Thus it is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year. The Pulitzer Prize program has also recognized some historical work with its Biography prize, from 1917, and its General Non-Fiction prize, from 1962. Finalists have been announced from 1980, ordinarily two others beside the winner.

Winners

In its first 97 years to 2013, the History Pulitzer was awarded 95 times. Two prizes were given in 1989; none in 1919, 1984, and 1994. Four people have won two each, Margaret Leech, Bernard Bailyn,

Paul Horgan Paul George Vincent O'Shaughnessy Horgan (August 1, 1903 – March 8, 1995) was an American writer of historical fiction and non-fiction who mainly wrote about the Southwestern United States. He was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes for Histo ...

and Alan Taylor. * 1917: '' With Americans of Past and Present Days'' by

Jean Jules Jusserand Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand (18 February 1855 – 18 July 1932) was a French author and diplomat. He was the French Ambassador to the United States 1903-1925 and played a major diplomatic role during World War I. Birth and education ...

* 1918: '' A History of the Civil War, 1861-1865'' by

James Ford Rhodes James Ford Rhodes (May 1, 1848 – January 22, 1927), was an American industrialist and historian born in Cleveland, Ohio. After earning a fortune in the iron, coal, and steel industries by 1885, he retired from business. He devoted his life to his ...

* 1919: no award given

1920s

* 1920: '' The War with Mexico'' by Justin H. Smith * 1921: ''

The Victory at Sea ''The Victory at Sea'' is a 1920 military history book by Admiral William Sims in collaboration with Burton J. Hendrick. It concern's Sims' career in the Atlantic theater of World War I. It won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer P ...

'' by

William Sowden Sims William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and Burton J. Hendrick * 1922: ''

The Founding of New England ''The Founding of New England '' is a book by James Truslow Adams. It won the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awar ...

'' by

James Truslow Adams James Truslow Adams (October 18, 1878 – May 18, 1949) was an American writer and historian. He was a freelance author who helped to popularize the latest scholarship about American history and his three-volume history of New England is well r ...

* 1923: ''

The Supreme Court in United States History ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by

Charles Warren General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...

* 1924: '' The American Revolution: A Constitutional Interpretation'' by Charles Howard McIlwain * 1925: ''

History of the American Frontier History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

'' by Frederic L. Paxson * 1926: ''

A History of the United States A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

, Vol. VI: The War for Southern Independence (1849–1865)'' by

Edward Channing Edward Perkins Channing (June 15, 1856 – January 7, 1931) was an American historian and an author of a monumental ''History of the United States'' in six volumes, for which he won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for History. His thorough research i ...

* 1927: '' Pinckney's Treaty '' by

Samuel Flagg Bemis Samuel Flagg Bemis (October 20, 1891 – September 26, 1973) was an American historian and biographer. For many years he taught at Yale University. He was also president of the American Historical Association and a specialist in American dip ...

* 1928: ''

Main Currents in American Thought Vernon Louis Parrington (August 3, 1871 – June 16, 1929) was an American literary historian and scholar. His three-volume history of American letters, ''Main Currents in American Thought'', won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one ...

'' by

Vernon Louis Parrington Vernon Louis Parrington (August 3, 1871 – June 16, 1929) was an American literary historian and scholar. His three-volume history of American letters, ''Main Currents in American Thought'', won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one ...

* 1929: '' The Organization and Administration of the Union Army, 1861–1865'' by Fred Albert Shannon

1930s

* 1930: '' The War of Independence'' by Claude H. Van Tyne * 1931: ''

The Coming of the War, 1914 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by Bernadotte E. Schmitt * 1932: '' My Experiences in the World War'' by John J. Pershing * 1933: '' The Significance of Sections in American History'' by Frederick J. Turner * 1934: '' The People's Choice'' by Herbert Agar * 1935: ''

The Colonial Period of American History ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by Charles McLean Andrews * 1936: '' A Constitutional History of the United States'' by Andrew C. McLaughlin * 1937: '' The Flowering of New England, 1815–1865'' by

Van Wyck Brooks Van Wyck Brooks (February 16, 1886 in Plainfield, New Jersey – May 2, 1963 in Bridgewater, Connecticut) was an American literary critic, biographer, and historian. Biography Brooks graduated from Harvard University in 1908. As a student ...

* 1938: '' The Road to Reunion, 1865–1900'' by Paul Herman Buck * 1939: '' A History of American Magazines'' by

Frank Luther Mott Frank Luther Mott (April 4, 1886 – October 23, 1964) was an American historian and journalist, who won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for History for Volumes II and III of his series, ''A History of American Magazines''. Early life and education Mott w ...

1940s

* 1940: '' Abraham Lincoln: The War Years'' by

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

* 1941: '' The Atlantic Migration, 1607–1860'' by

Marcus Lee Hansen Marcus Lee Hansen (December 8, 1892 – May 11, 1938) was an American historian, who won the 1941 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Atlantic Migration, 1607–1860'' (1940). Biography Hansen was born in Neenah, Wisconsin.Brennan & Clarage (199 ...

* 1942: '' Reveille in Washington, 1860–1865'' by Margaret Leech * 1943: '' Paul Revere and the World He Lived In'' by Esther Forbes * 1944: '' The Growth of American Thought'' by

Merle Curti Merle Eugene Curti (September 15, 1897 – March 9, 1996) was a leading American historian, who taught many graduate students at Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin, and was a leader in developing the fields of social history and ...

* 1945: ''Unfinished Business'' by

Stephen Bonsal Stephen Bonsal (March 29, 1865 – June 8, 1951) was an American journalist, war correspondent, author, diplomat, and translator, who won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for History. Early life Bonsal was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1865. He was e ...

* 1946: ''

The Age of Jackson ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. * 1947: '' Scientists Against Time'' by James Phinney Baxter III * 1948: '' Across the Wide Missouri'' by

Bernard DeVoto Bernard Augustine DeVoto (January 11, 1897 – November 13, 1955) was an American historian, conservationist, essayist, columnist, teacher, editor, and reviewer. He was the author of a series of Pulitzer-Prize-winning popular histories of the Ame ...

* 1949: ''

The Disruption of American Democracy ''The Disruption of American Democracy'' is a 1948 nonfiction history book published by American historian Roy Franklin Nichols, which won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for History. In the book, Nichols argued that the American Civil War The A ...

'' by Roy Franklin Nichols

1950s

* 1950: '' Art and Life in America'' by Oliver W. Larkin * 1951: '' The Old Northwest, Pioneer Period 1815–1840'' by

R. Carlyle Buley Roscoe Carlyle Buley (July 8, 1893, in Georgetown, Floyd County, Indiana – April 25, 1968, in Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American historian and educator. Personal life and educational background The son of David M. Buley – a Hoosier scho ...

* 1952: ''

The Uprooted ''The Uprooted: The Epic Story of the Great Migrations That Made the American People'' is book about European migrations into the United States by Oscar Handlin. It won the Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered ...

'' by Oscar Handlin * 1953: '' The Era of Good Feelings'' by

George Dangerfield George Bubb Dangerfield (28 October 1904 in Newbury, Berkshire – 27 December 1986 in Santa Barbara, California) was a British-born American journalist, historian, and the literary editor of ''Vanity Fair'' from 1933 to 1935. He is known primar ...

* 1954: '' A Stillness at Appomattox'' by

Bruce Catton Charles Bruce Catton (October 9, 1899 – August 28, 1978) was an American historian and journalist, known best for his books concerning the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular history, featuring in ...

* 1955: '' Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History'' by

* 1956: '' The Age of Reform'' by

Richard Hofstadter Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916October 24, 1970) was an American historian and public intellectual of the mid-20th century. Hofstadter was the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. Rejecting his earlier historic ...

* 1957: '' Russia Leaves the War: Soviet-American Relations, 1917–1920'' by George F. Kennan * 1958: '' Banks and Politics in America'' by Bray Hammond * 1959: '' The Republican Era: 1869–1901'' by Leonard D. White and Jean Schneider

1960s

* 1960: '' In the Days of McKinley'' by Margaret Leech * 1961: '' Between War and Peace: The Potsdam Conference'' by Herbert Feis * 1962: '' The Triumphant Empire: Thunder-Clouds Gather in the West, 1763–1766'' by Lawrence H. Gipson * 1963: '' Washington, Village and Capital, 1800–1878'' by

Constance McLaughlin Green Constance McLaughlin Winsor Green (August 21, 1897 in Ann Arbor, Michigan – December 5, 1975 in Annapolis, Maryland) was an American historian. She who won the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' Washington, Village and Capital, 1800–1878 ...

* 1964: '' Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town'' by Sumner Chilton Powell * 1965: '' The Greenback Era'' by

Irwin Unger Irwin Unger (May 2, 1927 - May 21, 2021, New York City) was an American historian and academic specializing in economic history, the history of the 1960s, and the history of the Gilded Age. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1958 and ...

* 1966: ''

The Life of the Mind in America ''The Life of the Mind in America: From the Revolution to the Civil War'' is a nonfiction history book by Perry Miller. It won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the ...

'' by Perry Miller * 1967: '' Exploration and Empire: The Explorer and the Scientist in the Winning of the American West'' by William H. Goetzmann * 1968: '' The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution'' by Bernard Bailyn * 1969: '' Origins of the Fifth Amendment'' by Leonard W. Levy

1970s

* 1970: '' Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department'' by Dean Acheson * 1971: '' Roosevelt: The Soldier Of Freedom'' by James MacGregor Burns * 1972: '' Neither Black nor White'' by Carl N. Degler * 1973: '' People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Origins of American Civilization'' by Michael Kammen * 1974: '' The Americans: The Democratic Experience'' by Daniel J. Boorstin * 1975: '' Jefferson and His Time'' by

Dumas Malone Dumas Malone (January 10, 1892 – December 27, 1986) was an American historian, biographer, and editor noted for his six-volume biography on Thomas Jefferson, '' Jefferson and His Time'', for which he received the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for history ...

* 1976: '' Lamy of Santa Fe'' by

* 1977: '' The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861'' by David M. Potter (Completed and edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher) * 1978: '' The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business'' by

Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. Alfred DuPont Chandler Jr. (September 15, 1918 – May 9, 2007) was a professor of business history at Harvard Business School and Johns Hopkins University, who wrote extensively about the scale and the management structures of modern corporatio ...

* 1979: '' The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics'' by Don E. Fehrenbacher

1980s

Entries from this point on include the finalists listed after the winner for each year. * 1980: ''

Been in the Storm So Long ''Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery'' is a 1979 book by American historian Leon Litwack, published by Knopf. The book chronicles the African-American experience following the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. In 1980, the book won ...

'' by

Leon F. Litwack Leon Frank Litwack (December 2, 1929 – August 5, 2021) was an American historian whose scholarship focused on slavery, the Reconstruction Era of the United States, and its aftermath into the 20th century. He won a National Book Award, the Pulitz ...

** '' The Plains Across'' by John B. Unruh ** ''The Urban Crucible'' by Gary B. Nash * 1981: '' American Education: The National Experience, 1783–1876'' by Lawrence A. Cremin ** ''A Search for Power: The 'Weaker Sex' in Seventeenth Century New England'' by

Lyle Koehler Lyle P. Koehler (March 6, 1944 – July 30, 2015) was an American historian and author. Early life and education Koehler was born in Sparta, Wisconsin on March 6, 1944, to parents Irene and Lyle Koehler Sr. He attended Black River Falls High Sc ...

** ''Over Here: The First World War and American Society'' by David M. Kennedy * 1982: '' Mary Chesnut's Civil War'' by C. Vann Woodward ** ''Power and Culture: The Japanese-American War, 1941–1945'' by Akira Iriye ** ''White Supremacy: A Comparative Study in American & South African History'' by George M. Fredrickson * 1983: '' The Transformation of Virginia, 1740–1790'' by Rhys L. Isaac ** ''Southern Honor: Ethics & Behavior in the Old South'' by

Bertram Wyatt-Brown Bertram Wyatt-Brown (March 19, 1932 – November 5, 2012) was a noted historian of the Southern United States. He was the Richard J. Milbauer Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida, where he taught from 1983-2004; he also taught at Case W ...

** ''The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789'' by Robert Middlekauff * 1984: no award given * 1985: '' Prophets of Regulation'' by

Thomas K. McCraw Thomas Kincaid McCraw (September 11, 1940 – November 3, 2012) was an American business historian and Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Emeritus at Harvard Business School, who won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' Prophets o ...

** ''The Crucible of Race'' by Joel Williamson ** ''The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians'' by

Francis Paul Prucha Francis Paul Prucha (January 4, 1921 – July 30, 2015) was an American historian, professor '' emeritus'' of history at Marquette University, and specialist in the relationship between the United States and Native Americans. His work, ''The Grea ...

* 1986: '' ...the Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age'' by Walter A. McDougall ** ''Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America'' by Kerby A. Miller ** ''Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, Work and the Family from Slavery to the Present'' by

Jacqueline Jones Jacqueline Jones (born 17 June 1948) is an American social historian. She held the Walter Prescott Webb Chair in History and Ideas from 2008 to 2017 and is Mastin Gentry White Professor of Southern History at the University of Texas at Austin. ...

** ''Novus Ordo Seclorum: the Intellectual Origins of the Constitution'' by

Forrest McDonald Forrest McDonald, Jr. (January 7, 1927 – January 19, 2016) was an American historian who wrote extensively on the early national period of the United States, republicanism, and the presidency, but he is possibly best known for his polemic on the ...

* 1987: '' Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution'' by Bernard Bailyn ** ''Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference'' by

David Garrow David Jeffries Garrow (born May 11, 1953) is an American author and historian. He wrote the book ''Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference'' (1986), which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biogr ...

** ''Eisenhower: At War, 1943–1945'' by David Eisenhower * 1988: '' The Launching of Modern American Science, 1846–1876'' by

Robert V. Bruce Robert Vance Bruce (December 19, 1923 in Malden, Massachusetts – January 15, 2008 in Olympia, Washington) was an American historian specializing in the American Civil War, who won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book '' The Launchin ...

** ''The Care of Strangers: The Rise of America's Hospital System'' by

Charles E. Rosenberg Charles Ernest Rosenberg (born 1936) is an American historian of medicine. He is Professor of the History of Science and Medicine and the Ernest E. Monrad Professor in the Social Sciences at Harvard University. Early life and education Rosenb ...

** '' The Fall of the House of Labor'' by David Montgomery * 1989: '' Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era'' by

James M. McPherson James Munro McPherson (born October 11, 1936) is an American Civil War historian, and is the George Henry Davis '86 Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University. He received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for '' Battle Cry of ...

* 1989: '' Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954–1963'' by

Taylor Branch Taylor Branch (born January 14, 1947) is an American author and historian who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy chronicling the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and much of the history of the American civil rights movement. The final volume o ...

** '' A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam'' by

Neil Sheehan Cornelius Mahoney Sheehan (October 27, 1936 – January 7, 2021) was an American journalist. As a reporter for ''The New York Times'' in 1971, Sheehan obtained the classified '' Pentagon Papers'' from Daniel Ellsberg. His series of articles rev ...

** ''Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877'' by

Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African-American biography, the American Civil War, Reconstruc ...

1990s

* 1990: '' In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines'' by

Stanley Karnow Stanley Abram Karnow (February 4, 1925 – January 27, 2013) was an American journalist and historian. He is best known for his writings on the Vietnam War. Education and career After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in the China B ...

** ''American Genesis: A Century of Invention and Technological Enthusiasm 1870–1970'' by

Thomas P. Hughes Thomas Parke Hughes (September 13, 1923 – February 3, 2014) was an American historian of technology. He was an emeritus professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and a visiting professor at MIT and Stanford. He received his Ph.D. ...

** ''The Image of the Black in Western Art, Volume IV: From the American Revolution to World War I'' by Hugh Honour * 1991: '' A Midwife's Tale'' by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ** ''America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink'' by Kenneth M. Stampp ** ''Making a New Deal: Industrial Workers in Chicago, 1919–1939'' by Lizabeth Cohen ** ''The Civil Rights Era: Origins and Development of National Policy'' by Hugh David Graham * 1992: '' The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties'' by Mark E. Neely, Jr. ** ''A Very Thin Line: The Iran-Contra Affairs'' by

Theodore Draper Theodore H. Draper (September 11, 1912 – February 21, 2006) was an American historian and political writer. Draper is best known for the 14 books he completed during his life, including work regarded as seminal on the formative period of the Ame ...

** ''Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West'' by

William Cronon William Cronon (born September 11, 1954 in New Haven, Connecticut) is an environmental historian and the Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madi ...

** ''Profits in the Wilderness: Entrepreneurship and the Founding of New England Towns in the Seventeenth Century'' by John Frederick Martin ** ''The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815'' by Richard White * 1993: ''

The Radicalism of the American Revolution ''The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' is a nonfiction book by historian Gordon S. Wood, published by Vintage Books as a paperback in 1993. The first printing of the hardcover edition notes a publication date of December 1991. In the book, ...

'' by

Gordon S. Wood Gordon Stewart Wood (born November 27, 1933) is an American historian and professor at Brown University. He is a recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' (1992). His book ''The Creation o ...

** '' Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America'' by Garry Wills ** ''The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction'' by Edward L. Ayers * 1994: no award given ** ''Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK'' by Gerald Posner ** ''Crime and Punishment in American History'' by

Lawrence M. Friedman Lawrence Meir Friedman (born April 2, 1930) is an American Legal education, law professor, historian of American legal history, and author of nonfiction and fiction books. He has been a member of the faculty at Stanford Law School since 1968. Bi ...

** ''William Faulkner and Southern History'' by Joel Williamson * 1995: '' No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II'' by

Doris Kearns Goodwin Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of several U.S. presidents, including ''Lyndon Johnson and the American Drea ...

** ''Lincoln in American Memory'' by

Merrill D. Peterson Merrill Daniel Peterson (31 March 1921 – 23 September 2009) was a history professor at the University of Virginia and the editor of the prestigious Library of America edition of the selected writings of Thomas Jefferson. Peterson wrote several bo ...

** ''Stories of Scottsboro'' by James Goodman * 1996: '' William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic'' by Alan Taylor ** ''Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb'' by

Richard Rhodes Richard Lee Rhodes (born July 4, 1937) is an American historian, journalist, and author of both fiction and non-fiction, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning ''The Making of the Atomic Bomb'' (1986), and most recently, ''Energy: A Human Histor ...

** ''The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic'' by Lance Banning * 1997: '' Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution'' by Jack N. Rakove ** ''Founding Mothers and Fathers'' by

Mary Beth Norton Mary Beth Norton (born 1943) is an American historian, specializing in American colonial history and well known for her work on women's history and the Salem witch trials. She is the Mary Donlon Alger Professor Emeritus of American History at t ...

** ''The Battle for Christmas'' by Stephen Nissenbaum * 1998: '' Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion'' by Edward J. Larson ** '' Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America'' by

J. Anthony Lukas Jay Anthony Lukas (April 25, 1933 – June 5, 1997) was an American journalist and author, probably best known for his 1985 book '' Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families''. ''Common Ground'' is a classic study ...

** ''Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History'' by Rogers Smith * 1999: '' Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898'' by Edwin G. Burrows and

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

** ''In a Barren Land: American Indian Dispossession and Survival'' by Paula Mitchell Marks ** ''This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age'' by William E. Burrows

2000s

* 2000: '' Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945'' by David M. Kennedy ** ''The Cousins' Wars: Religion, Politics and the Triumph of Anglo-America'' by Kevin Phillips ** ''Into the American Woods: Negotiators on the Pennsylvania Frontier'' by James H. Merrell * 2001: '' Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation'' by Joseph J. Ellis ** ''The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States'' by Alexander Keyssar ** ''Way Out There in the Blue'' by Frances FitzGerald * 2002: '' The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America'' by

Louis Menand Louis Menand (; born January 21, 1952) is an American critic, essayist, and professor, best known for his Pulitzer-winning book '' The Metaphysical Club'' (2001), an intellectual and cultural history of late 19th and early 20th century America. ...

** ''Deep Souths: Delta, Piedmont, and the Sea Island Society in the Age of Segregation'' by J. William Harris ** '' Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America'' by Daniel K. Richter * 2003: '' An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa 1942–1943'' by

Rick Atkinson Lawrence Rush "Rick" Atkinson IV (born November 15, 1952) is an American author, most recently of ''The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777'', the first volume in the Revolution Trilogy. He has won Pulit ...

** ''At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America'' by

Philip Dray Philip Dray is an American writer and historian, known for his comprehensive analyses of American scientific, racial, and labor history. Awards Dray's work ''At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America'' won the Robert F. Ken ...

** ''Rereading Sex: Battles Over Sexual Knowledge and Suppression in Nineteenth Century America'' by Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz * 2004: '' A Nation Under Our Feet'' by Steven Hahn ** '' Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center'' by

Daniel Okrent Daniel Okrent (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of ''The New York Times'' newspaper, inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books (such as ...

** '' They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967'' by

David Maraniss David Maraniss ( ; born 1949) is an American journalist and author, currently serving as an associate editor for ''The Washington Post''. Career ''The Washington Post'' assigned Maraniss the job of biographer for their coverage of 2008 president ...

* 2005: ''

Washington's Crossing Washington's Crossing is the location of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26, 1776 in the American Revolutionary War. This daring maneuver led to victory in the Battle of Trenton and altered the cou ...

'' by

David Hackett Fischer David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends ('' Albion's Seed,'' ''The Great Wave' ...

** '' Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age'' by Kevin Boyle ** ''Conjectures of Order: Intellectual Life and the American South, 1810-1860, volumes 1 & 2'' by Michael O'Brien * 2006: '' Polio: An American Story'' by David Oshinsky ** ''New York Burning'' by Jill Lepore ** ''The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln'' by

Sean Wilentz Robert Sean Wilentz (; born February 20, 1951) is the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979. His primary research interests include U.S. social and political history in the ...

* 2007: '' The Race Beat'' by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff ** ''Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War'' by Nathaniel Philbrick ** ''Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1787-2005'' by James T. Campbell * 2008: '' What Hath God Wrought: the Transformation of America, 1815–1848'' by

Daniel Walker Howe Daniel Walker Howe (born January 10, 1937) is an American historian who specializes in the early national period of U.S. history, with a particular interest in its intellectual and religious dimensions. He was Rhodes Professor of American Histor ...

** '' The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War'' by

David Halberstam David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and late ...

** ''Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power'' by

Robert Dallek Robert A. Dallek (born May 16, 1934) is an American historian specializing in the presidents of the United States, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. He retired as a history professor at Bost ...

* 2009: '' The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family'' by

Annette Gordon-Reed Annette Gordon-Reed (born November 19, 1958) is an American historian and law professor. She is currently the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and a professor of history in the university's Faculty of Arts & Sciences. She ...

** ''The Liberal Hour: Washington and the Politics of Change in the 1960s'' by G. Calvin Mackenzie and Robert Weisbrot ** ''This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War'' by

Drew Gilpin Faust Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian and was the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman to serve in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or gradu ...

2010s

* 2010: '' Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World'' by

Liaquat Ahamed Liaquat Ahamed (born 14 November 1952 in Kenya) is an American author. Life and work Liaquat Ahamed was born in Kenya, where his grandfather had emigrated to from Gujarat by way of Zanzibar in the late 19th century.Gordon S. Wood Gordon Stewart Wood (born November 27, 1933) is an American historian and professor at Brown University. He is a recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' (1992). His book ''The Creation o ...

** ''Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City'' by

Greg Grandin Greg Grandin (born 1962) is a professor of history at Yale University. He previously taught at New York University. He is author of a number of books, including ''Fordlândia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City'', which was ...

* 2011: '' The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery'' by

** ''Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South'' by Stephanie McCurry ** ''Eden on the Charles: The Making of Boston'' by Michael J. Rawson * 2012: '' Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention'' by

Manning Marable William Manning Marable (May 13, 1950 – April 1, 2011) was an American professor of public affairs, history and African-American Studies at Columbia University.Grimes, William"Manning Marable, Historian and Social Critic, Dies at 60" ''The Ne ...

** ''Empires, Nations & Families: A History of the North American West, 1800-1860'' by Anne F. Hyde ** ''The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden'' by

Anthony Summers Anthony Bruce Summers (born 21 December 1942) is an Irish author. He is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist and has written ten non-fiction books. Career Summers is an Irish citizen who has been working with Robbyn Swan for more than thirty years befo ...

and Robbyn Swan ** ''Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America'' by Richard White * 2013: '' Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam'' by

Fredrik Logevall Fredrik Logevall is a Swedish-American historian and educator at Harvard University, where he is the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and professor of history in the Harvard Facult ...

** ''The Barbarous Years: The Peopling of British North America: The Conflict of Civilizations, 1600-1675'' by Bernard Bailyn ** ''Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History'' by John Fabian Witt * 2014: '' The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832'' by Alan Taylor ** ''A Dreadful Deceit: The Myth of Race from the Colonial Era to Obama's America'' by

** ''Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety'' by

Eric Schlosser Eric Matthew Schlosser (born August 17, 1959) is an American journalist and author known for his investigative journalism, such as in his books ''Fast Food Nation'' (2001), '' Reefer Madness'' (2003), and '' Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, ...

* 2015: '' Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People'' by Elizabeth A. Fenn ** ''Empire of Cotton: A Global History'' by Sven Beckert ** ''An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America'' by Nick Bunker * 2016: ''Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America'' by T. J. Stiles ** ''Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War'' by Brian Matthew Jordan ** ''Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor'' by James M. Scott ** ''The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency'' by Annie Jacobsen * 2017: '' Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy'' by

Heather Ann Thompson Heather Ann Thompson is an American historian, author, activist, professor, and speaker from Detroit, Michigan. Thompson won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History, the 2016 Bancroft Prize, and other awards for her work '' Blood in the Water: The A ...

** ''Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It'' by

Larrie D. Ferreiro Larrie D. Ferreiro is a naval architect and historian. Early life He was born and raised on Long Island, New York, United States. His great-grandfather was an immigrant from Galicia, Spain. Career He completed his Ph.D at Imperial College Lo ...

** ''New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America'' by Wendy Warren * 2018: ''The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea'' by

Jack E. Davis Jack Emerson Davis is an author and professor of history in Florida. He holds the Rothman Family Endowed Chair in the Humanities and teaches environmental history and sustainability studies at the University of Florida. In 2002-2003, he taught o ...

** ''Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics'' by Kim Phillips-Fein ** ''Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots against Hollywood and America'' by Steven J. Ross * 2019: '' Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom'' by

David W. Blight David William Blight (born 1949) is the Sterling Professor of History, of African American Studies, and of American Studies and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. Previousl ...

** ''American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic'' by Victoria Johnson ** ''Civilizing Torture: An American Tradition'' by W. Fitzhugh Brundage

2020s

*2020: '' Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America'' by W. Caleb McDaniel **''Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership'' by

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor __NOTOC__ Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is an American academic, writer, and activist. She is a professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University. She is the author of ''From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation'' (2016). For this book, ...

**''The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America'' by

*2021: '' Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America'' by

Marcia Chatelain Marcia Chatelain (born 1979) is an American academic who serves as a professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. In 2021, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History for her book '' Franchise: ...

**''The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America'' by Eric Cervini **''The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West'' by Megan Kate Nelson *2022: Two winners: ''Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America'' by Nicole Eustace, and ''Cuba: An American History'' by Ada Ferrer **''Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction'' by

Kate Masur Kate Masur is an American historian and author. She is a professor of history at Northwestern University. Her book ''Until Justice Be Done'' was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the American Historical Association The American Histo ...

Repeat winners

Five people have won the Pulitzer Prize for History twice. * Margaret Leech, 1942 for ''Reveille in Washington, 1860–1865'' and 1960 for ''In the Days of McKinley'' * Bernard Bailyn, 1968 for ''The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution'' and 1987 for ''Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution'' *

, 1955 for ''Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History'' and 1976 for ''Lamy of Santa Fe'' * Alan Taylor, 1996 for ''William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic'' and 2014 for ''The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832'' * Don E. Fehrenbacher completed ''The Impending Crisis'' by David Potter, for which Potter posthumously won the 1977 prize, and won the 1979 prize himself for ''The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics''.

References

External links

* {{Pulitzer Prize for History

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

History awards Historiography Awards established in 1917 1917 establishments in New York City American history awards

Winners

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Repeat winners

See also

References

External links