Owen Lattimore

Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – 1989) was a U.S. author and educator known for his area of expertise and complex political history. Lattimore's unique history made him the most influential American scholar of Central Asia in the 20th Century. At the same time, he was accused by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy as being the number one Soviet spy in America. Some people credit Lattimore with coining the term McCarthyism but a strong argument is made in academic circles that Herbert Block used the term first in a cartoon in the Washington Post. Although the charges against him were dropped and some scholarly opinions have exonerated Lattimore, his legacy and activities still remain a source of speculation today.

Related Topics:
July 29 - 1900 - 1989 - U.S. - Central Asia - 20th Century - U.S. Senator - Joseph McCarthy - Soviet - Spy - McCarthyism - Herbert Block

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Although born in America, Lattimore was raised in China, where his parents were expatriate workers. He spoke fluent Chinese and was deeply familiar with the country — Chiang Kai Shek was a personal acquaintance. After doing graduate research at Harvard University from 1928 to 1929, Lattimore returned to China to participate in business and newspaper work. He eventually began working in insurance, a job which led him to travel across the Silk Road. He became an expert in the area, one of the few Westerners to have both visited the area and read the Chinese language accounts of it — for his honeymoon he traveled overland from Beijing to Delhi, a mammoth feat in the first half of this century.

Related Topics:
China - Expatriate - Chiang Kai Shek - Harvard University - 1928 - 1929 - Silk Road - Beijing - Delhi

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From 1938 to 1950, Lattimore was the director of the Page School of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University. He continued to be a lecturer there until 1963. The publication of his landmark work Inner Asian Frontiers of China assured him a reputation as the world's greatest expert on China's northwestern border, and he began to dabble more broadly in political science and public affairs.

Related Topics:
1938 - 1950 - Page School of International Relations - Johns Hopkins University - 1963

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In 1950 he was accused by McCarthy of being the Soviet Union's top spy. In 1952, Lattimore was indicted for perjury on seven counts, but within three years, the charges against him were dismissed, although speculation that he may have been an agent for Communist China continues today. From 1963 to 1970, Lattimore was professor of Chinese studies at Leeds University in England.

Related Topics:
1950 - 1952 - Perjury - 1963 - 1970 - Leeds University - England

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Lattimore is well-known for his life-long dedication to supporting Mongol scholars, as well as to establishing research centers to further the study of Mongolian history and culture. He is one of the few Westerners to receive recognition from the Mongolian state, which granted him some of its most prestiguous awards before his death. The State Museum in Ulan Bator, for instance, named a newly discovered dinosaur after him.

Related Topics:
Mongolia - Ulan Bator

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