F. K. Lehman (February 5, 1924 – February 10, 2016; born Frederic Kris Lehman; also known by his Burmese name U Chit Hlaing, or sometimes as F. K. L. Chit Hlaing) was an American anthropologist and professor emeritus at

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. Widely known as one of the founding fathers of Burma studies in the United States, he taught at the

from 1952 until his retirement in 2009.

Early life

Frederic Kris Lehman was born in 1924 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Born into a family of gem merchants, he spent his childhood in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, India and Lashio, Burma. In 1941, he returned to New York City.Schober, Juliane
Where to Begin? A Brief Intellectual Biography of F. K. Lehman (F. K. L. U Chit Hlaing)
''The Journal of Burma Studies'' Vol. 15 No. 1 (2011), pp. 1–6. Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University.

Education

Lehman obtained a BA in mathematics (1949) from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and a PhD (1959) in Anthropology and Linguistics from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Lehman taught at the

from 1952 until his retirement in 2009 at the age of 85. He supervised dozens of graduate students at the University of Illinois. He conducted ethnographic research among many ethnic groups of Burma, including the

Chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

, Mizo (Lushai), Shan, Karen, Kayah, Burmese, Thai, and

Yunnanese Yunnan; is an inland province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, ...

. Lehman also played an instrumental role in the founding of the Center for Burma Studies at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

Personal life

F. K. Lehman married Sheila Geyer in New York City on September 10, 1956. They had two sons, Mark Alexander Lehman (married to Sandra Edwards) and Charles Frederic Albert Lehman. His grandchildren are Tamisha LaShawn McClendon, Brandon Alexander Lehman, and Cameron Alexander Lehman.Frederic Lehman
By The News-Gazette, Feb. 28, 2016. He was more often known as Kris Lehman to his close friends and family.

Death

Lehman died on February 10, 2016, at the age of 92.

Publications

Lehman published more than 60 articles. He also published two monographs, which are:Bibliography of F. K. Lehman’s Published Works
" ''Journal of Burma Studies'' 15, no. 1 (2011): 59-67. doi:10.1353/jbs.2011.0007. *1963. ''The Structure of Chin Society''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. (2nd ed. 1981. Calcutta: Firma KLM for Tribal Research Centre.) *1967. “Kayah Society as a Function of the Shan-Burma-Karen Context.” In ''Contemporary Change in Traditional Societies'', vol. 1, ed. J. H. Steward, 1–104. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

References

External links

Kris Lehman 2003 interview
* F. K. Lehman's Kuki-Chin bibliography on

Wikibooks Wikibooks (previously called ''Wikimedia Free Textbook Project'' and ''Wikimedia-Textbooks'') is a wiki-based Wikimedia project hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation for the creation of free content digital textbooks and annotated texts that anyon ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehman, F. K. 1924 births 2016 deaths Burmese studies scholars American anthropologists American ethnographers Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty American expatriates in India American expatriates in Myanmar Linguists of Burmese