Richard Keir Pethick Pankhurst OBE (3 December 1927 – 16 February 2017) was a British-Ethiopian

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

, founding member of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, and former professor at the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. His books have been reviewed in scholarly journals, with

Edward Ullendorff Edward Ullendorff (1920–2011) was a British scholar and historian. He was a prominent figure in Ethiopian Studies and also contributed work on the Semitic languages. Biography Born on 25 January 1920 in Zurich, Switzerland, Ullendorff was e ...

calling his ''The Ethiopians'' as another testimony to his "remarkable diligence and industry in the service of Ethiopian studies". He is known for his research on economic history and socio-cultural studies on

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Early life and education

Pankhurst was born in 1927 in

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford in north-east London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the west. Epping F ...

left communist Left communism, or the communist left, is a position held by the left wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices espoused by Marxist–Leninists and social democrats. Left communists assert positions which they rega ...

and former suffragette

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with t ...

and Italian anarchist Silvio Corio. His maternal grandparents were

Emmeline ''Emmeline, The Orphan of the Castle'' is the first novel written by English writer Charlotte Smith; it was published in 1788. A Cinderella story in which the heroine stands outside the traditional economic structures of English society and ...

and

Richard Pankhurst Richard Marsden Pankhurst (1834 – 5 July 1898) was an English barrister and socialist who was a strong supporter of women's rights. Early life Richard Pankhurst was the son of Henry Francis Pankhurst (1806–1873) and Margaret Marsden (1 ...

. Pankhurst studied at

Bancroft's School Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent day school located in Woodford Green, London Borough of Redbridge. The school currently has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18, around 200 of whom are pupils of the Preparatory School an ...

in Woodford, then at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

,The Pankhurst Family
SylviaPankhurst.com from which he received a doctorate in economic history,Indrias Getachew

Race and History on which

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

acted as an advisor.Close and Personal: Interview with Dr. Richard Pankhurst
Senamirmir

Career

His mother, Sylvia Pankhurst, had been an active supporter of Ethiopian culture and independence since the Italian invasion in 1935, and Richard grew up knowing many Ethiopian refugees. Sylvia was a friend of

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

and published ''Ethiopia, a Cultural History'' in 1955. In 1956, she and Richard moved to Ethiopia. He began working at the

University College of Addis Ababa Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, ...

, and in 1962 was the founding director of the

Institute of Ethiopian Studies The Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) was officially established in 1963 to collect information on Ethiopian civilization, its history, cultures, and languages.Pankhurst, Richard. "Institute of Ethiopian Studies." In Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: He ...

. He also edited the ''Journal of Ethiopian Studies'' and the ''Ethiopia Observer''. Pankhurst left the Institute and his professorship at what had become the

University of Addis Ababa Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, ...

in 1976 after the death of Haile Selassie and the start of the

Ethiopian Civil War The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991. The Derg overthrew ...

. He returned to England, where he became a research fellow with the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

and the

, before working as librarian at the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

. He returned to Ethiopia in 1986, where he resumed research with the Institute. He published numerous books and articles on a wide variety of topics related to

Ethiopian history Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in Africa, the emergence of Ethiopian civilization dates back thousands of years. Due to migration and imperial expansion, it grew to include many other primarily Afro-Asiatic languages, Afro-Asiatic-spea ...

. Pankhurst led the campaign for the return of the

Obelisk of Axum The Obelisk of Axum ( ti, ሓወልቲ ኣኽሱም, ḥawelti Akhsum; ) is a 4th-century CE, tall phonolite stele, weighing , in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembli ...

to Ethiopia. It was re-erected in Axum in 2008. For his efforts in this, he was given the honorary title "

Dejazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper ...

Benkirew" by the Union of Tigraians of North America. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas section of the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to Ethiopian studies".

Personal life

In addition to his numerous books on Ethiopia, Pankhurst wrote works on his mother, including ''Sylvia Pankhurst: Artist and Crusader'' and ''Sylvia Pankhurst: Counsel for Ethiopia''. Pankhurst married Rita Eldon (1927–2019) in 1957 and they had a daughter,

Helen Pankhurst Helen Pankhurst (born 1964) is a British women's rights activist, scholar and writer. She is currently CARE International's senior advisor working in the UK and Ethiopia. She is the great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and granddau ...

, and a son,

Alula Pankhurst Alula Pankhurst (born 1962) is an Ethiopian scholar and social development consultant whose main focus is Ethiopia and Ethiopian studies. He has worked in Ethiopia for many years in a variety of positions including as an associate professor of a ...

, with whom he collaborated on at least one book.

Death and legacy

Pankhurst died on 16 February 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the age of 89.

Workneh Gebeyehu Workneh Gebeyehu Negewo ( om, Warqinaa Gabayyoo; am, ወርቅነህ ገበየሁ, born 16 July 1968) is an Ethiopian politician. In September 2012, he was appointed Ministry of Transport and he has served as an elected member of Addis Ababa C ...

, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister described him as "one of Ethiopia's greatest friends". He was buried on 21 February at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.

References

Relevant literature

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External links

"A Bibliography of the Published Writings of Richard Pankhurst"
compiled by Rita Pankhurst {{DEFAULTSORT:Pankhurst, Richard 1927 births 2017 deaths Addis Ababa University faculty Alumni of the London School of Economics Ethiopianists Metrologists People educated at Bancroft's School Historians of Africa Officers of the Order of the British Empire British emigrants to Ethiopia English people of Italian descent

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

Academics of SOAS University of London