Annual Meetings
The Business History Conference had its first meeting in 1954 and has held annual meetings since 1958. Abstracts for all papers presented since 2003 are available. From 1962 to 1999, selected papers from the conference proceedings were published in Business and Economic History. From 2003 to 2018, select papers were published in BEH Online.
Mexico City
"Business History in Times of Disruption: Embracing Complexity and Diversity || Historia empresarial en tiempos de incertidumbre: acogiendo la complejidad y la diversidad"
"Business History in Times of Disruption: Embracing Complexity and Diversity || Historia empresarial en tiempos de incertidumbre: acogiendo la complejidad y la diversidad"
President: Andrea Lluch
Presidential Address: "Business History in Times of Disruption: Embracing Complexity and Diversity A View from Latin America"
Presidential Address: "Business History in Times of Disruption: Embracing Complexity and Diversity A View from Latin America"
Hopin Virtual Events Platform
"Business History: Building for the Future"
"Business History: Building for the Future"
President: Neil Rollings
Presidential Address: ""The Vast and Unsolved Enigma of Power": Business History and Business Power"
Presidential Address: ""The Vast and Unsolved Enigma of Power": Business History and Business Power"
Charlotte, North Carolina
"Collaboration in Business and Business History"
"Collaboration in Business and Business History"
President: Edward Balleisen
Presidential Address: "The Prospects for Collaborative Research in Business History"
Presidential Address: "The Prospects for Collaborative Research in Business History"
Cartagena, Colombia
"Globalization and De-Globalization: Shifts of Power and Wealth"
"Globalization and De-Globalization: Shifts of Power and Wealth"
President: Teresa da Silva Lopes
Presidential Address: "'The Nature of the Firm'—and the Eternal Life of the Brand"
Presidential Address: "'The Nature of the Firm'—and the Eternal Life of the Brand"
Baltimore, Maryland
"Money, Finance, and Capital"
"Money, Finance, and Capital"
Denver, Colorado
"Civilizations"
"Civilizations"
President: Walter Friedman
Presidential Address: "Recent Trends in Business History Research: Capitalism, Democracy, and Innovation"
Presidential Address: "Recent Trends in Business History Research: Capitalism, Democracy, and Innovation"
Portland, Oregon
"Reinterpretation"
"Reinterpretation"
Miami, Florida
"Inequalities: Winners and Losers in Business"
"Inequalities: Winners and Losers in Business"
Frankfurt, Germany
"The Virtues and Vices of Business—A Historical Perspective"
"The Virtues and Vices of Business—A Historical Perspective"
President: Per H. Hansen
Presidential Address: "From Finance Capitalism to Financialization: A Cultural and Narrative Perspective on 150 Years of Financial History"
Presidential Address: "From Finance Capitalism to Financialization: A Cultural and Narrative Perspective on 150 Years of Financial History"
Columbus, Ohio
"The Cultures and Institutions of Business"
"The Cultures and Institutions of Business"
President: Kenneth Lipartito
Presidential Address: "Connecting the Cultural and the Material in Business History"
Presidential Address: "Connecting the Cultural and the Material in Business History"
Philadelphia, PA
"Business and the State"
"Business and the State"
President: Margaret Levenstein
Presidential Address: "Escape from Equilibrium: Thinking Historically about Firm Responses to Competition"
Presidential Address: "Escape from Equilibrium: Thinking Historically about Firm Responses to Competition"
St. Louis, Missouri
"Knowledge"
"Knowledge"
Milan, Italy
"Fashions: Business Practices in Historical Perspective"
"Fashions: Business Practices in Historical Perspective"
President: Mark H. Rose
Presidential Address: "United States Bank Rescue Politics, 2008–2009: A Business Historian’s View"
Presidential Address: "United States Bank Rescue Politics, 2008–2009: A Business Historian’s View"
Sacramento, California
President: Pamela Laird
Presidential Address: "Looking Toward the Future: Expanding Connections for Business Historians"
Presidential Address: "Looking Toward the Future: Expanding Connections for Business Historians"
Cleveland, Ohio
Toronto, Ontario
President: Richard Sylla
Presidential Address: "Political Economy of Financial Development: Canada and the United States in the Mirror of the Other, 1790-1840"
Presidential Address: "Political Economy of Financial Development: Canada and the United States in the Mirror of the Other, 1790-1840"
Minneapolis, Minnesota
President: JoAnne Yates
Presidential Address: "How Business Enterprises Use Technology: Extending the Demand-Side Turn"
Presidential Address: "How Business Enterprises Use Technology: Extending the Demand-Side Turn"
Le Creusot, France
President: Patrick Fridenson
Presidential Address: "Business Failure and the Agenda of Business History "
Presidential Address: "Business Failure and the Agenda of Business History "
Wilmington, Delaware
Miami, Florida
President: Naomi Lamoreaux
Presidential Address: "Reframing the Past: Thoughts about Business Leadership and Decision Making under Uncertainty"
Presidential Address: "Reframing the Past: Thoughts about Business Leadership and Decision Making under Uncertainty"
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
College Park, Maryland
Glasgow, Scotland
Columbus, Ohio
President: William H. Becker
Presidential Address: "Managerial Culture and the American Political Economy"
Presidential Address: "Managerial Culture and the American Political Economy"
Pasadena, California
President: Louis Galambos
Presidential Address: "What Makes Us Think We Can Put Business Back into Business History?"
Presidential Address: "What Makes Us Think We Can Put Business Back into Business History?"
Baltimore, Maryland
President: Thomas K. McCraw
Presidential Address: "Ideas, Policies, and Outcomes in Business History"
Presidential Address: "Ideas, Policies, and Outcomes in Business History"
Columbus, Ohio
President: Morton Rothstein
Presidential Address: "Innocence and Guilt, Comedy and Adventure: Business History as a Human Activity "
Presidential Address: "Innocence and Guilt, Comedy and Adventure: Business History as a Human Activity "
New York, New York
President: Irene D. Neu Jones
Presidential Address: "My Nineteenth-Century Network: Erastus Corning, Benjamin Ingham, Edmond Forstall "
Presidential Address: "My Nineteenth-Century Network: Erastus Corning, Benjamin Ingham, Edmond Forstall "
Hartford, Connecticut
President: Paul Uselding
Presidential Address: "Recent Trends and Historical Contexts in the Rise and Fall of Economic Regions "
Presidential Address: "Recent Trends and Historical Contexts in the Rise and Fall of Economic Regions "
Peoria, Illinois
President: Fred Bateman
Presidential Address: "Business History in an Era of Economic Transformation "
Presidential Address: "Business History in an Era of Economic Transformation "
St. Paul, Minnesota
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
President: Thomas C. Cochran
Presidential Address: "Forty Years of the Cultural Approach to History "
Presidential Address: "Forty Years of the Cultural Approach to History "
New Orleans, Louisiana
Wilmington, Delaware
Columbus, Ohio
President: Donald L. Kemmerer
Presidential Address: "John E. Rovensky, 1880-1970, Industrialist and Banker "
Presidential Address: "John E. Rovensky, 1880-1970, Industrialist and Banker "
Moline, Illinois
President: Ross M. Robertson
Presidential Address: "American Business and American Life: A Bicentennial Appraisal "
Presidential Address: "American Business and American Life: A Bicentennial Appraisal "
Evanston, Illinois
President: Herman E. Krooss
Presidential Address: "Some Random Thoughts on Business and Government "
Presidential Address: "Some Random Thoughts on Business and Government "
Wilmington, Delaware
President: Harold F. Williamson
Presidential Address: "The Business History Conference and Business History: Some Reflections "
Presidential Address: "The Business History Conference and Business History: Some Reflections "
Ft. Worth, Texas
President: Arthur M. Johnson
Presidential Address: "Business History Research: The Past as Prologue"
Presidential Address: "Business History Research: The Past as Prologue"
Chicago, Illinois
