At a White House ceremony on November 10th, President George W. Bush presented Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman with the 2005 National Humanities Medal. Gilder and Lehrman are co-founders and co-chairmen of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

First awarded in 1989 as the Charles Frankel Prize, the National Humanities Medal honors individuals and organizations whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens' engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand America's access to important humanities resources.

In 1994, Gilder and Lehrman founded the Institute to promote the study and love of American history. Increasingly national and international in scope, the Institute targets audiences ranging from students to scholars to the general public. It creates history-centered schools and academic research centers, organizes seminars and enrichment programs for educators, partners with school districts to implement Teaching American History grants, produces print and electronic publications and traveling exhibitions, and sponsors lectures by eminent historians. The Institute also funds awards including the Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and George Washington Book Prizes and offers fellowships for scholars to work in history archives, including the Gilder Lehrman Collection.

"Lew and I honor America's story, that of the only nation built on ideas, and we believe those ideas must be understood, interpreted, taught, preserved, and discussed by Americans of all generations, and peoples of every nationality," said Gilder.

"Dick Gilder and I share an abiding love of American history and the contribution of every American citizen to this great story," said Lehrman. "We have tried to establish institutions which help Americans to rediscover their heritage and their common national identity. Our work has tried to honor great American heroes like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass --- and the principles and freedom for which they fought."

"But we have not done it alone. We have had a great team of men and women who understand that history is important, that facts matter, that enduring values and eternal truths don't change."

For more information about this award, visit www.whitehouse.gov.

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