Oklahoma Historical Society Awards and Honors
Annual Awards Banquet
The 2027 Awards Banquet will be held on April 30, 2027, at Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. This event honors OHS award recipients and includes induction of individuals into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
Nominations
Eligibility
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) encourages organizations and individuals to nominate others or self-apply. You do not have to be a member of the OHS to nominate or to receive an award. Current members of the OHS Board of Directors and current employees of the OHS, its museums, sites, and affiliates are not eligible. Awards are not necessarily given every year. Award recipients are recognized at the annual Awards Banquet at the Oklahoma History Center; awardees receive two complimentary banquet tickets.
Submissions and Evaluations
The nomination period will open on September 1, 2026, and the nomination deadline is November 15, 2026. All completed nominations are provided to the selection committee, which is comprised of members of the OHS Board of Directors. Nominations are evaluated on merit, not endorsement. Questions about OHS awards should be directed to Dr. Matthew Pearce and Anna Davis.
Dr. Matthew Pearce
State Historian
405-522-8659
[email protected]
Anna Davis
Editor, The Chronicles of Oklahoma
405-522-4860
[email protected]
Award Descriptions
Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame
Instituted in 1993, the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame is the highest honor awarded by the Oklahoma Historical Society. This honor recognizes distinguished and long-term contributions to Oklahoma history through demonstrated excellence. It is bestowed on individuals based on their contributions to the preservation, collection, interpretation, and dissemination of Oklahoma history. Past inductees include John Hope Franklin, Angie Debo, Currie Ballard, and Henrietta Mann. Inductees receive the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame medal, and their biography is published in The Chronicles of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame nomination form (PDF)
Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame members
Bruce T. Fisher Award
Outstanding Oklahoma History Project
The Bruce T. Fisher Award recognizes the significant contribution of an individual or organization for projects including but not limited to digital offerings, short-form publications, collections care, film, public programs, and exhibits. The project must contribute to broader public knowledge or expand appreciation in any field of Oklahoma history. The work must have been completed in the previous year with a project budget of $20,000 or less. The awardee receives $500 and a plaque of recognition.
Bruce T. Fisher Award nomination form (PDF)
Bruce T. Fisher Award recipients
About Bruce T. Fisher
Bruce T. Fisher, the son of Civil Rights Movement pioneer Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, served as acting Oklahoma secretary of state in 1980. In 1999 Fisher joined the Oklahoma Historical Society. He spearheaded the organization’s effort to collect, preserve, and share the state’s African American history, creating the Realizing a Dream exhibit in the Oklahoma History Center. Fisher and his colleagues won a Telly award for the documentary 2nd Street: The Heart of Oklahoma City. He helped resurrect the Oklahoma Historical Society Black Heritage Committee and continued developing special programming, even after his 2014 retirement, returning to work part-time at OHS for several years. In 2021 OHS inducted Bruce Fisher into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
Linda Williams Reese Award
Outstanding Dissertation or Thesis on Oklahoma History
The Linda Williams Reese Award recognizes an outstanding dissertation or thesis on Oklahoma history completed during the previous year. The awardee receives $500 and a plaque of recognition.
Linda Williams Reese Award nomination form (PDF)
Linda Williams Reese Award recipients
About Dr. Linda Williams Reese
Dr. Linda Williams Reese joined the faculty at East Central University in 1994, where she served as chair of the history department, director of the Oklahoma Studies Program, and director of the Teaching American History Grant. The college recognized her teaching ability, presenting her with the Exemplary Faculty Award, Teaching Excellence Award, and Outstanding History Professor Award. Reese wrote Women of Oklahoma, 1890–1920, and Trail Sisters: Freedwomen in Indian Territory, 1850–1890. She co-edited Main Street Oklahoma: Stories of Twentieth-Century America. She authored several articles, encyclopedia entries, and book reviews. In 2014, the OHS inducted Dr. Reese into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
Joseph B. Thoburn Award
Outstanding Student Historian
To encourage the study of Oklahoma history among young people, the OHS offers the Joseph B. Thoburn Award each year to the junior or senior high school student who exhibits outstanding achievements in the presentation or interpretation of state and local history. This may include but is not limited to involvement in local historical projects, and achievements in essay contests, scholastic tests, and Oklahoma National History Day competitions. The awardee receives $500 and a plaque of recognition.
Joseph B. Thoburn Award nomination form (PDF)
Joseph B. Thoburn Award recipients
About Joseph B. Thoburn
Joseph B. Thoburn served as an early civic leader in Oklahoma City. He helped organize the city’s Chamber of Commerce and establish Epworth University, which became Oklahoma City University. In 1903 he was elected to the Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors. In 1908 Thoburn published the first textbook adopted by the state on Oklahoma history, The History of Oklahoma. While a member of the University of Oklahoma’s history department, he excavated several of the state’s prehistoric American Indian archaeological sites. Thoburn joined the OHS staff in 1917. He wrote eight books and many articles on Oklahoma history. He assisted in establishing The Chronicles of Oklahoma and served as an early editor of the publication. He retired in 1931 and died in 1941. In 1993 OHS inducted Thoburn into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
William D. Pennington Award
Outstanding Social Studies Teacher
The William D. Pennington Award is presented to an outstanding social studies teacher. We welcome nominations of persons who demonstrate effective teaching by any measure of excellence. This may include but is not limited to the use or development of innovative social studies curriculum or technology, a lasting impact on students, and remarkable support for Oklahoma National History Day projects. Nominees may be asked to supply a sample lesson plan with current Oklahoma state standards and expectations. The awardee receives $500 and a plaque of recognition.
William D. Pennington Award nomination form (PDF)
William D. Pennington Award recipients
About Dr. William D. Pennington
Dr. William D. Pennington had a long academic career serving Tulsa Community College’s many campuses and Northwestern Oklahoma State University. From 2004 to 2007, he was the president of Murray State College. In 2001 Pennington won the McCasland Award for excellence in teaching Oklahoma history. He authored numerous articles on the state’s history. In 2001 Pennington became an Oklahoma Historical Society Board member, serving until 2007, when he passed away.
E. E. Dale Award
Outstanding Book on Oklahoma History
This award honors an outstanding book exploring a topic in Oklahoma history published during the previous year. Submissions must be a work of nonfiction and can be submitted by the author or by the publisher. Please mail five copies of the book you wish to nominate to the following address: Awards Committee, Oklahoma Historical Society, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. Including a cover letter providing contact information for the author and publisher is appreciated. Recipients receive a plaque of recognition and are invited to give a public lecture at the Oklahoma History Center.
About Dr. E. E. Dale
Dr. E. E. Dale, a Harvard graduate, joined the history faculty at the University of Oklahoma in 1924. He wrote a number of history books, including The Range Cattle Industry, Cow Country, History of Oklahoma, and The Indians of the Southwest: A Century of Development Under the United States. From 1930 to 1972, Dr. Dale served on the Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors. He retired from the university in 1952 but continued to research and write Oklahoma history, as well as authoring poetry and two autobiographical books. He died in 1972, and in 1994, the Oklahoma Historical Society inducted Dale into the Historians Hall of Fame posthumously.
Guardian of History Award
The Guardian of History Award recognizes elected officials who provide outstanding support for our mission to collect, preserve, and share Oklahoma’s unique and fascinating history. Recipients of the award recognize the critical role the Oklahoma Historical Society plays as a state agency and are vocal proponents of its continued success. Recipients receive a plaque of recognition.
Guardian of History Award recipients
Muriel H. Wright Award
Outstanding Article Published in The Chronicles of Oklahoma
The Muriel H. Wright Award honors the author of the outstanding article published in the preceding volume of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s scholarly journal, The Chronicles of Oklahoma. All articles published in The Chronicles are considered for the award, and the recipient receives $500 and a plaque of recognition.
Muriel H. Wright Award recipients
About Muriel H. Wright
Muriel H. Wright, the daughter of Choctaw Principal Chief Allen Wright, began performing editorial duties on The Chronicles of Oklahoma in 1943. In 1955 the Oklahoma Historical Society officially named her the journal’s editor. Wright authored six books on Oklahoma history, including A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma and Mark of Heritage. In the 1950s, she was instrumental in creating the Oklahoma Historical Society Historical Marker Program. In 1973 Muriel Wright retired from the OHS, and in 1975 passed away. In 1993 the Oklahoma Historical Society inducted her into the inaugural class of the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
