One of the Academy’s longest-standing traditions is members writing letters of acceptance upon election to membership. Since 1781, the Academy has received communications in a variety of formats. From quill pens to emojis, the letters have evolved through the years and provide perspectives as wide as our membership.
The Academy Archives preserves member letters and lines the walls of the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge with them, some of which are now available online:
- Selections from the Academy’s early years include letters from George Washington (1781), Alexander Hamilton (1791), and Maria Mitchell (1848).
- For Women’s History Month, the Academy offers letters from women, including Willa Cather (1943), Marian Anderson (1954), and Mary Leakey (1979).
- A gallery of letters from members elected between 2009 and 2019 includes contributions from Nelson Mandela (2009), Nicholas Kristof (2017), and Jane Hirshfield (2019).
- Members elected in 2022 and 2023 were inducted at a joint ceremony, due to COVID, and a selection of letters from those classes are in this gallery. Read the words of Daniel Bell, Glenn Close, Marian Croak, John E. Echohawk, Rhiannon Giddens, Tshilidzi Marwala, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and others.
- A selection of letters from members elected and inducted in 2024, including the first time the honor was accepted by bioluminescent bacteria.
