an independent agency of the U.S. government that supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. It was created by the U.S. Congress in the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965. The legislation defined “humanities” broadly to include the study of archaeology, language, linguistics, history, philosophy, ethics, comparative religion, jurisprudence, literature, and arts theory and criticism.

Grants to museums, libraries, and archives—for preserving and storing collections and for providing public access to collections—are among the NEH's programs. Museum exhibitions, television programs, and historic sites receive NEH grants, as do translation and editorial projects by academic presses. Individuals as well as institutions receive the endowment's support for creating educational materials and for teaching and research in the humanities. In its first 30 years the endowment awarded $2.7 billion in 51,000 fellowships and grants.