Edwin Oldfather Reischauer

Born Oct. 15, 1910, in Tokyo. American historian, scholar of Japanese culture, and diplomat.

Reischauer was educated at universities in the USA, France, Japan, and China. In 1938 he began to teach and do research at Harvard University. During World War II (1939–45) he served in the State Department, in the War Department, and on the General Staff. Subsequently he became an associate professor (1946–50) and a full professor (1950–61) of Far Eastern languages at Harvard. From 1956 to 1961 he was director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and in 1966 he became a professor in its department of Far Eastern politics. From 1961 to 1966, Reischauer was the US ambassador to Japan. He is a translator and a scholar of medieval Japanese culture, as well as the author of textbooks and works on the history of Japan and international relations in the Far East.