The Board of the American Polar Society has the authority to confer Honorary Membership to deserving individuals in recognition of their contributions to the exploration and history of polar regions. Here is the list of the 58 individuals so designated.
1936 ~ Brigadier General David Brainard
1938 ~ Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN
1940 ~ Vilhjalmur Stefansson (Canadian and American)
1949 ~ Lincoln Ellsworth
1949 ~ Professor Frank Debenham (Australian and British, 1st SPRI Director, Cambridge)
1957 ~ Dr. Paul Siple
1959 ~ Louise Boyd
1960 ~ Captain Finn Ronne, USN
1966 ~ Colonel Bernt Balchen, USAF
1969 ~ Dr. Laurence Gould
1978 ~ Dr. Thomas Poulter
1979 ~ Rear Admiral Richard Black, USN (Ret.)
1980 ~ Colonel Norman Vaughn
1981 ~ Dr. Lincoln Washburn
1982 ~ Charles Passel
1982 ~ Thomas Manning
1983 ~ Lieutenant Commander Conrad Shinn, USN
1985 ~ Graham Rowley (Canadian)
1986 ~ Dr. Waldo Lyon
1987 ~ Captain William Anderson, USN
1988 ~ Colonel Joseph Fletcher, USAF
1989 ~ Dr. Norbert Untersteiner
1990 ~ Max Brewer
1991 ~ Vice Admiral James Calvert, USN
1992 ~ Dr. Martin Pomerantz
1993 ~ Rear Admiral James Reedy, USN
1994 ~ Beaumont Buck
1995 ~ Captain David Nutt, USN
1996 ~ Dr. Charles Bentley
1997 ~ Dr. Wilford Weeks
1998 ~ Kenneth Toovak
1999 ~ Dr. Robert Rutford
2000 ~ Dr. Knut Aagard
2001 ~ Vice Admiral George Steele, USN
2002 ~ Commander Edward Ward, USN
2003 ~ Dr. David Elliot
2004 ~ Dr. Arnold Gorden
2005 ~ Brigadier General Keith Greenway, RCAF (Canadian)
2006 ~ Dr. Anthony Gow
2006 ~ Dr. James Van Allen
2013 ~ Will Steger
2013 ~ Dr. Susan Solomon
2013 ~ Dr. David Gallo
2013 ~ Tucker Scully
2013 ~ Dr. Lonne Thompson
2013 ~ Dr. Paul Myewski
2013 ~ Captain Paul Taylor, USCG
2013 ~ Vice Admiral John H. Nicholson, USN
2015 ~ Peter Anderson
2015 ~ Captain Lawson W. Brigham, USCG, PhD
2015 ~ Dr. Walter Munk
2015 ~ Captain Fred McClaren, USN (Ret.), PhD
2015 ~ Avery Russell
2015 ~ Dr. Julian Dowdswell (British, Director SPRI)
2015 ~ Dr. Gerald Kooyman
2015 ~ Norman Augustine
2015 ~ Captain Brian Shoemaker, USN (Ret.)