Awarded since 1997 to those "whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to important resources in the humanities."
| Name | Occupation | Birth | Death | Known for |
|---|
| Fouad Ajami |
Author |
9-Sep-1945 |
|
Director of Middle East Studies, SAIS |
| Stephen E. Ambrose |
Author |
10-Jan-1936 |
13-Oct-2002 |
Band of Brothers |
| Richard Brookhiser |
Journalist |
23-Feb-1955 |
|
National Review |
| Joan Ganz Cooney |
Film/TV Producer |
30-Nov-1929 |
|
Producer of Sesame Street |
| Midge Decter |
Journalist |
25-Jul-1927 |
|
Neoconservative maven |
| E. L. Doctorow |
Author |
6-Jan-1931 |
|
The Book of Daniel |
| Ernest J. Gaines |
Novelist |
15-Jan-1933 |
|
A Lesson Before Dying |
| Henry Louis Gates, Jr. |
Author |
16-Sep-1950 |
|
The Signifying Monkey |
| Richard Gilder |
Business |
c. 1932 |
|
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Mary Ann Glendon |
Diplomat |
7-Oct-1938 |
|
US Ambassador to the Vatican |
| Vartan Gregorian |
Educator |
8-Apr-1934 |
|
President of Carnegie Corporation |
| Victor Davis Hanson |
Historian |
5-Sep-1953 |
|
Carnage and Culture |
| Don Henley |
Musician |
22-Jul-1947 |
|
The Eagles |
| Roger Hertog |
Business |
c. 1941 |
|
Reinvented The New York Sun |
| Hal Holbrook |
Actor |
17-Feb-1925 |
|
Mark Twain Tonight |
| Quincy Jones |
Music Producer |
14-Mar-1933 |
|
Musician, Composer, Producer |
| Donald Kagan |
Historian |
1-May-1932 |
|
The Great Dialogue |
| Garrison Keillor |
Radio Personality |
7-Aug-1942 |
|
A Prairie Home Companion |
| Barbara Kingsolver |
Author |
8-Apr-1955 |
|
Prodigal Summer |
| Maxine Hong Kingston |
Author |
27-Oct-1940 |
|
The Woman Warrior |
| Hilton Kramer |
Critic |
25-Mar-1928 |
27-Mar-2012 |
The New Criterion |
| Erich Kunzel |
Conductor |
21-Mar-1935 |
1-Sep-2009 |
Conductor, Cincinnati Pops, 1977-2009 |
| Madeleine L'Engle |
Author |
29-Nov-1918 |
6-Sep-2007 |
A Wrinkle In Time |
| Jim Lehrer |
Journalist |
19-May-1934 |
|
PBS NewsHour |
| Lew Lehrman |
Business |
15-Aug-1938 |
|
Rite Aid drugstore founder |
| Art Linkletter |
TV Personality |
17-Jul-1912 |
26-May-2010 |
Kids Say the Darndest Things |
| William Manchester |
Author |
1-Apr-1922 |
1-Jun-2004 |
The Arms of Krupp |
| Paul Mellon |
Philanthropist |
11-Jun-1907 |
1-Feb-1999 |
Yale Center for British Art benefactor |
| Toni Morrison |
Author |
18-Feb-1931 |
|
Beloved |
| Cynthia Ozick |
Author |
17-Apr-1928 |
|
The Puttermesser Papers |
| Les Paul |
Guitarist |
9-Jun-1915 |
13-Aug-2009 |
Electric guitar/multitrack recording pioneer |
| John Rawls |
Philosopher |
21-Feb-1921 |
24-Nov-2002 |
A Theory of Justice |
| John Searle |
Philosopher |
Dec-1932 |
|
Chinese Room Argument, Philosopher of Language |
| Ted Sorensen |
Attorney |
8-May-1928 |
31-Oct-2010 |
Aide to JFK |
| Thomas Sowell |
Economist |
30-Jul-1930 |
|
Conservative economist, Hoover fellow |
| Steven Spielberg |
Film Director |
18-Dec-1946 |
|
E.T. |
| Shelby Steele |
Activist |
1-Jan-1946 |
|
The Content of Our Character |
| Studs Terkel |
Author |
16-May-1912 |
31-Oct-2008 |
Working |
| John Updike |
Novelist |
18-Mar-1932 |
27-Jan-2009 |
Rabbit, Run |
| August Wilson |
Playwright |
27-Apr-1945 |
2-Oct-2005 |
The Piano Lesson |
| Tom Wolfe |
Author |
2-Mar-1931 |
|
Bonfire of the Vanities |
| Andrew Wyeth |
Painter |
12-Jul-1917 |
16-Jan-2009 |
American painter, Christina's World |
