The Confederation Centre of the Arts has announced that historian and author Margaret MacMillan will receive the 2018 Symons Medal.
The medal recognizes a distinguished individual who has made an exceptional contribution to Canadian life.
The award will be presented to MacMillan at Confederation Centre on Nov. 23.
Previous Symons’ recipients include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Acadian author and scholar Antonine Maillet, Prince Charles, former Governor General David Johnston, former Prime Minister Paul Martin, Beverley McLachlin, former chief justice of Canada, Mary Simon, president of the national Inuit organization, and former Quebec premier Jean Charest.
MacMillan is a professor of history at the University of Oxford and former provost of Trinity College at the University of Toronto. Her research focus is British imperial history, international history of the 19th and 20th centuries and the causes of war, specifically the First World War.
Her published works include “Paris, 1919: Six Months that Changed the World’’, “The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914’’ and “History’s People: Personalities and the Past’’.
MacMillan is also a companion of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She also holds seven honorary degrees. She was the first woman to win the Samuel Johnson Prize (now the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction).
The BBC recently announced MacMillan as the 2018 BBC Reith Lecturer, an internationally renowned series now celebrating its 70th year. She delivered five lectures in June exploring the relationship between humanity and war.
Since 2004, Confederation Centre has honoured 17 distinguished Symons medallists. Held each fall, the medal ceremony creates a national platform for a prominent Canadian to discuss the nation’s current state and future prospects.
Tickets for the Symons Medal ceremony will be available via the box office at a later date. There is no cost to attend but a printed ticket is required for admission and the booking limit is two tickets per person.
