Mark G. Hanna

Mark G. Hanna is an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego. He holds the Robert and Laura Kyle Endowed Chair of Maritime History at the San Diego Maritime Museum and serves as the founding Associate Director of the Institute of Arts and Humanities. His research focuses on piracy, smuggling, and early American and British imperial history. Notably, his book Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire, 1570-1740 won multiple awards, including the Frederick Jackson Turner Award and the John Lyman Book Award.

• Education: B.A. in History from Yale University (1996), Ph.D. in History of American Civilization from Harvard University (2006).
• Affiliations: Honorary Curator of the Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages at UCSD’s Special Collections Library.

His research explores the role of piracy in colonial economic infrastructure and its impact on port towns. He has curated exhibits such as Pirates in Print and co-curated Early San Diego: On the Edge of Empires. Hanna has also been featured in media including This American Life and documentaries like Here Be Pirates: The First Citizen Scientists.

Teaching and mentorship are central to his work, reflected in awards like the Graduate Faculty Mentor Award. He teaches courses on early American history, the Atlantic World, and piracy in popular culture.