British Academy President and Fellows elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

President of the British Academy Sir David Cannadine and two other British Academy Fellows have been elected as international honorary members of the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Sir David, Paul Gilroy FBA, Jennifer Hornsby FBA and Malcom Schofield FBA join former President of the United States Barack Obama, actor Tom Hanks and former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in the Class of 2018.

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honours exceptional scholars, leaders, artists, and innovators and engages them in sharing knowledge and addressing challenges facing the world.

Commenting on the news, Sir David Cannadine said:

“I am delighted that myself and three of our Fellows, Paul Gilroy, Jennifer Hornsby and Malcolm Schofield, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. From founding fathers of the American Constitution to civil rights activists, this historic institution has been home to some of the greatest and most pioneering minds for nearly 250 years. Indeed, we join a distinguished group of UK scholars who have been elected into the AAAS for their academic accomplishments and international eminence.

“It is a particular honour -- and opportunity – to be joining the AAAS at such a significant time in UK-US relations, and I look forward to strengthening the many links between our two countries in general, and between our two academies in particular.”

Paul Gilroy FBA said:

“I was both astonished and delighted to receive news of this honour. To be taken seriously is a great privilege and the appreciation of one’s work by peers and colleagues is a joy.”

Jennifer Hornsby FBA said: 

"I couldn’t have been more surprised to learn that I had been elected an Honorary International member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. And now, learning more as I have about the AAAS, I could hardly feel more honoured."

Malcolm Schofield FBA said: 

"The news of this signal honour came as a massive surprise. It's not just that it was wholly unexpected, but it is something that I had never even crossed my mind. I am pleased and humbled by the appreciation colleagues in the US have thereby expressed for my life's work, on what ancient Greek and Roman philosophical literature still has to offer both as writing and as theoretical enterprise."

Jonathan Fanton, President of the American Academy, described membership of the insitution as "not only an honour, but also an opportunity and a responsibility."

He said: "Members can be inspired and engaged by connecting with one another and through Academy projects dedicated to the common good. The intellect, creativity, and commitment of the 2018 Class will enrich the work of the Academy and the world in which we live.”

The new Class will be inducted at a ceremony in October 2018 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and join the Academy members who came before them, including Benjamin Franklin (elected 1781), Alexander Hamilton (1791), Maria Mitchell (1848), Charles Darwin (1874), Albert Einstein (1924), Margaret Mead (1948) and Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966).

Professor Sir David Cannadine is Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University and Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. Paul Gilroy is Professor of American and English Literature at King's College London and author of There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack. Malcolm Schofield is Emeritus Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge.