Mark McKenna (born 1959) is a professor of history at the University of Sydney, noted for his work on Aboriginal history, a biography of Manning Clark and the history of republicanism in Australia.
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Biography
Early life and education
McKenna was born in 1959 and grew up in the Sydney suburb of Toongabbie. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney, he lived in Europe for a period and then taught in high schools in Sydney before completing his PhD at the University of New South Wales in 1996.
Awards and recognition
McKenna was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2013.
His book Return to Uluru about the shooting death of Yokununna by William (Bill) McKinnon was shortlisted for the 2022 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Australian history.
McKenna's The Shortest History of Australia, was shortlisted for the non-fiction category at The Age Book of the Year Awards in 2026.