Submissions Are Closed

Award Type

Discontinued

The Watumull Prize was established in 1944 by Council with a grant from the Watumull Foundation and first awarded in the following year. The prize recognized the best book on the history of India originally published in the United States, although in 1982 the latter stipulation was lifted. Also in 1982, however, was an end to the contributions of the Watumull Foundation, a circumstance that forced Council to discontinue it.

The prize seems to have wandered through a maze of inconsistency regarding the frequency of its award. Originally established on a triennial basis, the Watumull Prize Committee recommended in 1948 that it become biennial once again. In 1952, the prize was returned to its triennial basis, but in 1954—the first year of its renewed triennial status—Council returned it to its biennial format.

Always a relatively lucrative award, it carried a $500 prize from its inception, an amount doubled in 1972.