About the AHA | Humanists of the year

Humanists of the Year

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. The Awards Committee, with the approval of the Board, makes the selection. A bronze plate bearing an inscription is awarded at the Annual Conference.

The awardee's acceptance speech is published in The Humanist.

  • 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. Bendley - 1954
  • Anton J. Carlson - 1953

 Dan Savage, 2013 Humanist of the Year 

Dan Savage
2013 Humanist of the Year
Read more on our Annual Conference page

Photo by LaRae Lobdell | PhotoSister.com

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