History News Network

History News Network (HNN) is an online platform for historians to comment on current events, and to place today's news into a historical perspective. HNN is hosted by the University of Richmond.

History

History News Network (HNN) is a non-profit corporation registered in Washington, D.C. The network was founded by Richard Shenkman, author of Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of World History. He served as HNN editor until his retirement in 2019. As of February 2025,^[update] Tony Field is managing editor. HNN sponsored several history-oriented blogs, including Liberty and Power (coordinated by David T. Beito) and Jim Loewen.^{[needs update?][1][2][3][4]} Murray Polner was the long-time book editor for HNN.^[5][6]

In 2012, HNN celebrated Independence Day by holding a contest to select the worst books about American history ever published. Nominees included David Barton's The Jefferson Lies, Michael Bellesiles's Arming America, Gavin Menzies’s 1421: The Year China Discovered America, Richard G. Williams's 2006 book Stonewall Jackson: The Black Man's Friend and A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.^[3] Over 1000 HNN readers gave the nod to Barton and Zinn.^[7]

HNN, initially hosted by George Mason University, moved to George Washington University in 2017.^[8][9] By 2019, after Shenkman’s retirement, The George Washington University Department of History assumed full responsibility for operating and editing HNN.^[10] On December 2023, the University of Richmond acquired History News Network,^[11][12] integrating it into the university’s Digital Humanities ecosystem through its public history project tool known as "Bunk".^[11][13]