Harold F. Williamson Prize

Awarded every two to three years to a mid-career scholar who has made significant contributions to the field of business history, this prize memorializes the contributions to business history of the late Harold F. Williamson. The Grants and Prizes Committee shall serve as the core members of the Williamson Prize Committee, which shall also consist of two ex officio members, the BHC President and the BHC Secretary-Treasurer. The membership shall be solicited for nominations for the Williamson Prize six months before the prize winner is to be selected. The committee's selection shall require ratification by the full Board of Trustees.

The Harold F. Williamson Prize in Business History was first presented in 1990; it is awarded every two years. The prize was established to honor the memory of one of the founding members of the Business History Conference: Hal Williamson taught at Northwestern University for many years, trained dozens of graduate students, and served as president of the BHC in 1974.

The prize is awarded to an individual "at mid-career" who has made significant contributions to the teaching and writing of business history. The prize consists of a medallion and $500.

Harold F. Williamson

2023 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Alexia Yates
University of Manchester

2020 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Daniel Wadhwani
University of Southern California

2020 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Sharon Murphy
Providence College

2018 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Edward Balleisen
Duke University

2016 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Christopher McKenna
Reader in Business History & Strategy, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

2014 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Stephen Mihm
University of Georgia

2012 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Mary O'Sullivan
University of Geneva

2010 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Sally Clarke
University of Texas at Austin (retired)

2008 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Regina Lee Blaszczyk
Leadership Chair in the History of Business and Society
Andrea Colli
Universita' Bocconi

2006 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Pamela Laird
Department of History, University of Colorado Denver

2004 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Steven Usselman
Georgia Tech

2002 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Richard John
Columbia University
Angel Kwolek-Folland
Department of History, University of Florida

2000 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Kenneth Lipartito
Florida International University

1998 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Steven Tolliday
University of Leeds
JoAnne Yates
Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1996 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


William J. Hausman
College of William & Mary

1994 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Geoffrey Jones
Harvard Business School

1992 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


David A. Hounshell
Carnegie Mellon University

1990 Harold F. Williamson Prize Recipient


Naomi Lamoreaux
Department of Economics, Yale University