John F. Richards (November 3, 1938 – August 23, 2007) was a historian of South Asia and in particular of the Mughal Empire. He was Professor of History at Duke University, North Carolina, and a recipient in 2007 of the Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies Award. He participated in and encouraged a multi-disciplinary, multi-regional approach to studies.[1]
John Richards was born on November 3, 1938 in Exeter, New Hampshire. His parents, Frank F. Richards and Ella Higgins Richards, subsequently had two more children.[2]
Richards graduated from the University of New Hampshire as valedictorian in 1961 and on the same day he married his high school sweetheart, Ann Berry. The couple moved to California and, in 1968, to Madison when he received an appointment at the University of Wisconsin.[2] He was awarded a PhD in History by the University of California at Berkeley in 1970. His thesis, later published at Mughal Administration in Golconda (1975), was written under the direction of Thomas R. Metcalf. This established him as "one of the leading historians of the Mughal Empire in the United States", according to David Gilmartin, and he went on to write a volume of The New Cambridge History of India titled The Mughal Empire (1993).[1]
Other works by Richards on the Mughal period include The Imperial Monetary System of Mughal India (1987) and Kingship and Authority in South Asia (1998). The impact of the Mughal empire on world events caused him to consider the Mughals to be an "early modern" empire, rather than the medieval one that most commentators believed it to be. It was this belief that led him into studies of world trade and state finances, as well as early modern world environmental history. In 2003, he published The Unending Frontier: Environmental History of the Early Modern World (2003).[1]
Richards had worked at Duke University since 1977.[2] He was heavily involved with administration of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers and in reforming the troubled American Institute of Pakistan Studies. He was also in the vanguard of establishing the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, the first meeting of which took place at Duke University in 2003[1] and of which he was the founding president.[3]
Richards died of cancer at home in Durham, North Carolina, on August 23, 2007, days before he was due to retire. He had two children.[2]
A festschrift titled Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and World History: Essays in Honour of John F. Richards was published in 2013, edited by Richard M. Eaton, Munis D. Faruqui, Gilmartin and Sunil Kumar.
In 2011, the American Historical Association inaugurated a prize named in his honor. This is awarded for the best book on South Asian history published during each year.[3]
ReferencesEdit
^ abcdGilmartin, David. . Guha, Sumit; Bhagavan, Manu. Society for Advancing the History of South Asia. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ abcd"History Professor John Richards Dies at Age 68". Durham Herald-Sun. August 30, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2015 – via DukeToday.
^ abTownsend, Robert B. (January 2011). "John F. Richards Prize for South Asian History to Be Launched". American Historical Association. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
Further readingEdit
Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (September 2007). "John F. Richards: A Brief Memoir". Economic and Political Weekly. 42 (37): 3700–3702. JSTOR 40276381.
External linksEdit
"John F. Richards Prize Recipients". American Historical Association.
October 20, 2023
john, richards, november, 1938, august, 2007, historian, south, asia, particular, mughal, empire, professor, history, duke, university, north, carolina, recipient, 2007, distinguished, contributions, asian, studies, award, participated, encouraged, multi, disc. John F Richards November 3 1938 August 23 2007 was a historian of South Asia and in particular of the Mughal Empire He was Professor of History at Duke University North Carolina and a recipient in 2007 of the Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies Award He participated in and encouraged a multi disciplinary multi regional approach to studies 1 Contents 1 Life 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksLife EditJohn Richards was born on November 3 1938 in Exeter New Hampshire His parents Frank F Richards and Ella Higgins Richards subsequently had two more children 2 Richards graduated from the University of New Hampshire as valedictorian in 1961 and on the same day he married his high school sweetheart Ann Berry The couple moved to California and in 1968 to Madison when he received an appointment at the University of Wisconsin 2 He was awarded a PhD in History by the University of California at Berkeley in 1970 His thesis later published at Mughal Administration in Golconda 1975 was written under the direction of Thomas R Metcalf This established him as one of the leading historians of the Mughal Empire in the United States according to David Gilmartin and he went on to write a volume of The New Cambridge History of India titled The Mughal Empire 1993 1 Other works by Richards on the Mughal period include The Imperial Monetary System of Mughal India 1987 and Kingship and Authority in South Asia 1998 The impact of the Mughal empire on world events caused him to consider the Mughals to be an early modern empire rather than the medieval one that most commentators believed it to be It was this belief that led him into studies of world trade and state finances as well as early modern world environmental history In 2003 he published The Unending Frontier Environmental History of the Early Modern World 2003 1 Richards had worked at Duke University since 1977 2 He was heavily involved with administration of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers and in reforming the troubled American Institute of Pakistan Studies He was also in the vanguard of establishing the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies the first meeting of which took place at Duke University in 2003 1 and of which he was the founding president 3 Richards died of cancer at home in Durham North Carolina on August 23 2007 days before he was due to retire He had two children 2 A festschrift titled Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and World History Essays in Honour of John F Richards was published in 2013 edited by Richard M Eaton Munis D Faruqui Gilmartin and Sunil Kumar In 2011 the American Historical Association inaugurated a prize named in his honor This is awarded for the best book on South Asian history published during each year 3 References Edit a b c d Gilmartin David About John F Richards Guha Sumit Bhagavan Manu Society for Advancing the History of South Asia Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved May 2 2015 a b c d History Professor John Richards Dies at Age 68 Durham Herald Sun August 30 2007 Retrieved May 2 2015 via DukeToday a b Townsend Robert B January 2011 John F Richards Prize for South Asian History to Be Launched American Historical Association Retrieved May 2 2015 Further reading EditSubrahmanyam Sanjay September 2007 John F Richards A Brief Memoir Economic and Political Weekly 42 37 3700 3702 JSTOR 40276381 External links Edit John F Richards Prize Recipients American Historical Association Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John F Richards amp oldid 1091216340, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
