Michael Aung-Thwin (1946 – August 14, 2021) was a

Burmese American Burmese Americans ( my, မြန်မာဇာတိနွယ် အမေရိကန် ) are Americans of full or partial Burmese ancestry. The term encompasses people of all ethnic backgrounds with ancestry in present-day Myanmar (or Burma), ...

historian and emeritus professor at the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawa ...

, specializing in early Southeast Asian and Burmese history.

Early life and education

Aung-Thwin was born in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military governme ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

(now Yangon, Myanmar) in 1946. Aung-Thwin's mother, Margaret Hope Aung-Thwin, of mixed Anglo-Burmese, Karen, and Arakanese descent, was a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

and lecturer. He attended Kodaikanal International School in South India, where his mother taught. He earned a bachelor of arts degree at

Doane College Doane University is a private university in Crete, Nebraska. It has additional campuses in Lincoln and Omaha, as well as online programs. History Doane College was founded on July 11, 1872, by Thomas Doane, chief civil engineer for the Burli ...

in 1969, followed by a master of arts degree at

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univers ...

in 1971, and a PhD at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Academic career

Aung-Thwin held academic posts at

Elmira College Elmira College is a private college in Elmira, New York. Founded as a college for women in 1855, it is the oldest existing college granting degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men. Elmira College became coeducational in a ...

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 22 ...

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...

, the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in th ...

(NUS), and the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He served as the Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University. In 2018, he was awarded the George E. Bogaars endowed professorship at NUS.

Death

Aung-Thwin died at his home in Hawaii on August 14, 2021, after a long illness.

Publications

* ''Pagan: The Origins of Modern Burma'' (1985) * ''The Mists of Ramanna: The Legend that was Lower Burma'' (2005) * ''A History of Myanmar Since Ancient Times: Traditions and Transformations'' (2013) * ''Myanmar in the Fifteenth Century: A Tale of Two Kingdoms'' (2017)

Personal life

Aung-Thwin was married to Maria, and had two children, Maitrii and Amita. Maitrii Aung-Thwin is a Burmese American historian and professor at NUS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aung-Thwin, Michael Burmese writers Burmese emigrants to the United States 20th-century Burmese historians 21st-century Burmese historians University of Michigan alumni Doane University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Hawaiʻi faculty People from Yangon 1946 births 2021 deaths Historians of Southeast Asia Burmese studies scholars