The prize is in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the United States.
Ken Burns Named the Inaugural Recipient of the David M. Rubenstein Prize for the Advancement of American History
Annual Prize, established by The New York Historical and endowed by David M. Rubenstein, Honors Excellence in Promoting American History
—The New York Historical is pleased to announce that documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is the inaugural recipient of the David M. Rubenstein Prize for the Advancement of American History, created in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The award, founded by financier and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, pays tribute to an individual who has made significant contributions to promoting knowledge and understanding of American history.
Following a call for nominations earlier this summer, which resulted in hundreds of entries, a jury made up of experts including historian Beverly Gage, scholar Annette Gordon-Reed, biographer Jon Meacham, journalist Fareed Zakaria, and Made by Us Executive Director Caroline Klibanoff selected this year’s recipient. Ken Burns receives $250,000 and a citation certificate to be presented at a gala dinner on February 20, 2027, in Palm Beach, Florida, where he will be interviewed by Mr. Rubenstein. The news will also be shared in a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and Washington Post.
“Ken Burns’s work reflects our highest aspirations with the David M. Rubenstein Prize,” said the jury. “Always asking the question, ‘Who are we as Americans?’ Ken’s films have brought the history of the nation to more people in our time than perhaps any other body of work by one person, shedding light on our virtues and our vices. His commitment to storytelling and his rigor as a historian is a model for the field.”
“I am hugely appreciative and humbled by this extraordinary recognition,” said Ken Burns. “David Rubenstein and The New York Historical jointly represent the very best of what it means to be civically minded, working to preserve our history and educate our public, understanding that an informed and questioning citizenry is what the founders meant by a virtuous republic. Our films rely on the work of generations of historians and archivists and what amounts to a collective conversation about who we are as a people. I am very fortunate to be part of this conversation about a country I love. And equally, it’s an honor to join David and The New York Historical to ask all Americans to be part of a conversation that I am confident will go on for another 250 years, hopefully allowing us to even better achieve the ideals of our founding documents.”
“Ken Burns’s films, whether exploring major historical conflicts, iconic American institutions, or the biographies of consequential Americans, invariably succeed in finding their way to the center of our national conversation,” said Louise Mirrer, president & CEO of The New York Historical. “This is because of the profound insight Ken's work offers into the nation’s past and his gift for presenting history to the broadest possible public. These qualities, among others, make him the quintessential inaugural recipient of an award that celebrates the advancement of American history. We are thrilled to honor Ken with the 2026 David M. Rubenstein Prize and are deeply indebted to David Rubenstein for establishing this prize.”
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for 50 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The US and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; Leonardo da Vinci; and, most recently, The American Revolution. Future film projects include Martin Luther King Jr., LBJ & the Great Society, Emancipation to Exodus, and CIA, among others. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including 17 Emmys, two Grammys, and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
The David M. Rubenstein Prize for the Advancement of American History seeks to honor a living historian, writer, teacher, filmmaker, podcaster, social media producer, or leader of a professional, philanthropic, or cultural organization who consistently and significantly helps the public to better understand the nation’s past. Nominations for next year’s prize will open in 2027.
The television series History with David M. Rubenstein, filmed in The Historical’s Robert H. Smith Auditorium, airs on local PBS stations across the nation. A rich library of Mr. Rubenstein’s interviews are also available via The Historical’s podcast For the Ages, which launched in June 2021.
About The New York Historical
New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution covering over 400 years of American history. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; peerless collections of art, documents, and artifacts; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ+ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States’ democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better. Connect with us at nyhistory.org or at @nyhistory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Tumblr.
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