Spence, Jonathan D.

Spence, Jonathan D. (Dermot)

(1936– ) historian, educator; born in Surrey, England. He came to the U.S.A. in 1959, earning a Ph.D. at Yale and joining its faculty (1966). He freshly illuminated Chinese history, particularly of the 16th and 17th centuries, through his innovative studies of historical characters from Emperor K'ang-hsi to Western missionaries; his Search for Modern China (1990) won widespread acclaim.