The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of

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 ...

for books about

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from

Frederic Bancroft Frederic Bancroft (October 30, 1860, in Galesburg, Illinois – February 22, 1945) was an American historian, author, and librarian. The Bancroft Prize, one of the most distinguished academic awards in the field of history, was established at C ...

, in his memory and that of his brother, diplomat and attorney, Edgar Addison Bancroft. The Bancroft Prize is considered one of the most distinguished academic awards in the field of history. The prize has been generally considered to be among the most prestigious awards in the field of American history writing. It comes with a $10,000 stipend (raised from $4,000 beginning in 2004). Seventeen winners had their work supported by the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, and 16 winners were also recipients of the

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

. The prize was affected by the post-award controversy involving the scholarship of Michael A. Bellesiles, who received the prize for his work in 2001. Following independent investigations, Columbia University rescinded the prize for the first and only time.

Winners of the Bancroft Prize

References

{{Columbia University American history awards Awards established in 1948 American non-fiction literary awards Columbia University Libraries Awards and prizes of Columbia University 1948 establishments in New York City

Winners of the Bancroft Prize

See also

References