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John Womack Jr. is an historian of Latin America, particularly of Mexico, the Mexican Revolution and Emiliano Zapata. In June 2009 he retired from his post as the Robert Woods Bliss Professor of Latin American History and Economics at Harvard University.
Womack was born in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1937 to John Womack Sr., also an historian. He graduated summa cum laude at Harvard University in 1959 and became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. In the 60's he returned to his alma mater to earn a Ph.D. in History with exceptional research that gave him international prestige and his most famous book: Zapata and the Mexican Revolution. His dissertation earned him a place at Harvard as an assistant professor of Latin American History. He became a specialist in Mexican, Cuban and Colombian history, leading research in agrarian, industrial, and labor history.
On November 21, 2009, he received the 1808 Medal, given by the Mexico City government. He gave it up to the Mexican Union of Electricians, saying: "My infinite respect for the ability of Mexicans to transform in benefit of the majority their moments of crisis. Such conviction moves me to give honor and deliver this medal to the most important, most courageous organization that took form in this city during the revolutionary wars at the beginning of the last century, the Mexican Union of Electricians".
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