Honorary Foreign Member
The Association has honored foreign scholars since 1885, when the AHA awarded Leopold von Ranke with its first testimonial of honorary membership. See the list of past recipients.
According to the selection criteria, recipients of honorary memberships must be scholars working outside the United States who are distinguished for their work in the field of history.
The Committee on Honorary Foreign Members and Awards for Scholarly Distinction will serve as the jury and will recommend an individual for approval by the Council. The committee consists of the president, president-elect, and the immediate past president. The honoree will be announced at the Association's annual meeting.
2022 Honorary Foreign Member
Sir Hilary Beckles, University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Sir Hilary Beckles is professor of economic and social history and vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI). One of the world’s foremost historians of slavery and the slave trade in the Caribbean, Beckles is the author of nearly three dozen books. He is also widely recognized as the most authoritative living historian of West Indian cricket. He has written and staged eight plays on historical topics ranging from antislavery rebellions to political biographies. Over the last 20 years, he has also become one of the most forward-facing advocates for reparations for Caribbean slavery, representing the region on various United Nations committees and councils worldwide.