Thomas Theodore Allsen (February 16, 1940 – February 18, 2019) was an American historian specializing in Mongolian studies. Following the completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...

in 1962, Allsen attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

to pursue a Master of Arts in

Russian studies Russian studies is an interdisciplinary field crossing politics, history, culture, economics, and languages of Russia and its neighborhood, often grouped under Soviet and Communist studies. Russian studies should not be confused with the study of ...

. In 1969, Allsen graduated from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...

with a

Master of Library Science The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), also referred to as the Master of Library and Information Studies, is the master's degree that is required for most professional librarian positions in the United States. The MLIS is a relat ...

degree. He completed a doctoral degree at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

in 1979 and began teaching at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

. The next year, Allsen joined the faculty of the

Trenton State College The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

History Department. He received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

in 2002, and retired from The College of New Jersey in the same year. Between 1986 and 2013, Allsen served on the editorial staff of the journal ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi''. The journal published a ''Festschrift for Thomas T. Allsen in Celebration of His 75th Birthday'' in its 21st volume (2014–15). Allsen died in February 2019.

References

1940 births 2019 deaths 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers The College of New Jersey faculty Western Kentucky University faculty University of Minnesota alumni University of Oregon alumni University of Washington alumni Portland State University alumni Mongolists Academic journal editors 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers {{US-historian-stub