The Humanist of the Year award was established in 1953 to recognize a person of national or international reputation who, through the application of humanist values, has made a significant contribution to the improvement of the human condition. Selection of the awardee is based on research derived from biographical data, writings, studies, and contributions to humanity. Nominations are accepted from AHA members and considered by the AHA Board Awards Committee.
Awards from the American Humanist Association are given to recognize specific accomplishments that advance humanism in various scientific disciplines, as well as in the arts, in politics, and in modern culture. The Humanist of the Year award and the Lifetime Achievement award recognize the accomplishments and work of the individuals reflecting humanist values up to the date of the award and in concert with the prevailing humanist thought of the time. Since humanism is an evolving philosophy where we continually strive for improvement, some awardees we recognized in the past would no longer meet our current standards. As humanists we also recognize that people are imperfect and may at times lose sight of the values and ethics that previously guided their humanistic behavior.
- Salman Rushdie – 2019
- Jennifer Ouellette – 2018
- Adam Savage – 2017
- Jared Diamond – 2016
- Barney Frank – 2014
- Dan Savage – 2013
- Gloria Steinem – 2012
- Rebecca Newberger Goldstein – 2011
- Bill Nye – 2010
- PZ Myers – 2009
- Pete Stark – 2008
- Joyce Carol Oates – 2007
- Steven Pinker – 2006
- Murray Gell-Mann – 2005
- Daniel C. Dennett – 2004
- Sherwin T. Wine – 2003
- Steven Weinberg – 2002
- Stephen Jay Gould – 2001
- Bill Schulz – 2000
- Edward O. Wilson – 1999
- Barbara Ehrenreich – 1998
- Alice Walker – 1997
- Richard Dawkins – 1996
- Ashley Montagu – 1995
- Lloyd Morain – 1994
- Mary Morain – 1994
- Richard D. Lamm – 1993
- Kurt Vonnegut – 1992
- Lester R. Brown – 1991
- Werner Fornos – 1991
- Ted Turner – 1990
- Gerald A. Larue – 1989
- Leo Pfeffer – 1988
- Margaret Atwood – 1987
- Faye Wattleton – 1986
- John Kenneth Galbraith – 1985
- Isaac Asimov – 1984
- Lester A. Kirkendall – 1983
- Helen Caldicott – 1982
- Carl Sagan – 1981
- Andrei Sakharov – 1980
- Edwin H. Wilson – 1979
- Margaret E. Kuhn – 1978
- Corliss Lamont – 1977
- Jonas E. Salk – 1976
- Betty Friedan – 1975
- Henry Morgentaler – 1975
- Mary Calderone – 1974
- Joseph Fletcher – 1974
- Thomas Szasz – 1973
- B.F. Skinner – 1972
- Albert Ellis – 1971
- A. Philip Randolph – 1970
- R. Buckminster Fuller – 1969
- Benjamin Spock – 1968
- Abraham H. Maslow – 1967
- Erich Fromm – 1966
- Hudson Hoagland – 1965
- Carl Rogers – 1964
- Hermann J. Muller – 1963
- Julian Huxley – 1962
- Linus Pauling – 1961
- Leo Szilard – 1960
- Brock Chisholm – 1959
- Oscar Riddle – 1958
- Margaret Sanger – 1957
- C. Judson Herrick – 1956
- James P. Warbasse – 1955
- Arthur F. Bentley – 1954
- Anton J. Carlson – 1953
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Dr. K. Veeramani
2019 Humanist Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented at the 2019 Humanism
and Self-Respect Conference
Salman Rushdie
2019 Humanist of the Year
Learn more
Jennifer Ouellette
2018 Humanist of the Year
Read her speech in the Humanist Magazine
Adam Savage
2017 Humanist of the Year
Read his speech in The Humanist Magazine
Jared Diamond
2016 Humanist of the Year
Read his speech in The Humanist Magazine
Barney Frank
2014 Humanist of the Year
Read his speech in The Humanist Magazine
Dan Savage
2013 Humanist of the Year
Read his speech and interview in The Humanist Magazine |
