Holden Furber
Encyclopedia
Holden Furber was the twenty-first president of the Association for Asian Studies
and a scholar who specialized in the history of India
during the time of the British Raj
.
Born in Boston
, Massachusetts
in 1903, Furber was almost entirely educated in the Boston area, where he attended Brookline High School
before graduating from Harvard University
in 1924. He received his doctorate from Harvard in 1929 and at the same time attended Oxford University, where he was completed a bachelor's degree in 1925 and a master's degree in 1930. In 1931, during his nine year career as a lecturer at Harvard, he published his first book, Henry Dunah, First Viscount Melville, followed within two years by his edition of The Correspondence of Sir John Shore, Governor General, with Henry Dunah, President of the Board of Control, 1793-1798. Furber's potential as a young scholar was identified with the awarding of a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1937–38. He was appointed to the post of assistant professor at the University of Texas in 1940 but soon received an assignment to the Office of Strategic Services
(which later became the CIA) to work as a social science analyst after the United States entered the Second World War. From 1943 to 1945, Furber served the US State Department as a specialist on the British Commonwealth
, before returning to the University of Texas, where he stayed until 1948.
It was at that point that Furber published what was regarded as his most creative book, John Company at Work. For this study of the country trade in Asia, European trade from one point in Asia to another, Furber pored through Dutch
, French
, and Danish
, as well as British archives. He concluded that private British trading interests combined with Indian merchants to play a dynamic role in a network of trade which ultimately led to the establishment of the British Raj
in India. The American Historical Association
recognised the book with the Watumull Prize in 1949. In the meantime, Furber lectured at the University of Madras
in 1948, before moving to the University of Pennsylvania
, where he served as Professor of History until 1973. It was at Pennsylvania that he formed a close working relationship with W. Norman Brown
and significantly contributed to the building of a program for studying the Indian subcontinent
. He traveled to India in 1962 to deliver the Heras Lectures at the University of Bombay, which were published under the title The Bombay Presidency in the Mid-18th Century. In 1965 co-edited the fifth volume of the series entitled The Correspondence of Edmund Burke. This volume documented the period between July 1782 and June 1789 during which Burke's constructive interest in Indian affairs yielded to an "implacable determination" to defeat Hastings in the latter's impeachment trial. Furber found interpreted these letters as re-enforcement for the "view held in India today" that Burke was a "champion of Bengal
's downtrodden millions."
Furber was a member of the Royal Historical Society
and was the president of the Association for Asian Studies
from 1968 to 1969. In retirement, he published his ambitious survey, Rival Empires of Trade in the Orient 1600-1800, which applied the themes elucidated in John Company at Work back to earlier times. Furber's last book was dedicated to Elizabeth Chapin Furber, his first wife and a scholar of medieval French history
, who died at the time of his retirement. His second wife Lucy Richardson was the classmate of a widow, whom he escorted to his 50th reunion at Harvard. They married seven years later and they periodically lived at his summer home at Marblehead, Massachusetts
, and her family home in Concord, Massachusetts
. He died during his sleep on January 19, 1993 in Bedford, Massachusetts
.
Association for Asian Studies
The Association for Asian Studies is a U.S. society focused on facilitating contact and information exchange among scholars of Asian fields. It is the self-proclaimed largest society of its kind. The Association consists of eminent Asianists, and is a non-profit organization...
and a scholar who specialized in the history of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
during the time of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
.
Born in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1903, Furber was almost entirely educated in the Boston area, where he attended Brookline High School
Brookline High School
Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States.As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,826 students and 136 teachers , for a student-teacher ratio of 13.4 to 1 teacher.-Education:Almost every senior in...
before graduating from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1924. He received his doctorate from Harvard in 1929 and at the same time attended Oxford University, where he was completed a bachelor's degree in 1925 and a master's degree in 1930. In 1931, during his nine year career as a lecturer at Harvard, he published his first book, Henry Dunah, First Viscount Melville, followed within two years by his edition of The Correspondence of Sir John Shore, Governor General, with Henry Dunah, President of the Board of Control, 1793-1798. Furber's potential as a young scholar was identified with the awarding of a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1937–38. He was appointed to the post of assistant professor at the University of Texas in 1940 but soon received an assignment to the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(which later became the CIA) to work as a social science analyst after the United States entered the Second World War. From 1943 to 1945, Furber served the US State Department as a specialist on the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, before returning to the University of Texas, where he stayed until 1948.
It was at that point that Furber published what was regarded as his most creative book, John Company at Work. For this study of the country trade in Asia, European trade from one point in Asia to another, Furber pored through Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, as well as British archives. He concluded that private British trading interests combined with Indian merchants to play a dynamic role in a network of trade which ultimately led to the establishment of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
in India. The American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
recognised the book with the Watumull Prize in 1949. In the meantime, Furber lectured at the University of Madras
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public research university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three oldest universities in India...
in 1948, before moving to the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he served as Professor of History until 1973. It was at Pennsylvania that he formed a close working relationship with W. Norman Brown
W. Norman Brown
William Norman Brown was a distinguished Indologist, Sanskritist who established the first academic department of South Asian Studies in the U.S. and organized the American Oriental Society in 1926...
and significantly contributed to the building of a program for studying the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. He traveled to India in 1962 to deliver the Heras Lectures at the University of Bombay, which were published under the title The Bombay Presidency in the Mid-18th Century. In 1965 co-edited the fifth volume of the series entitled The Correspondence of Edmund Burke. This volume documented the period between July 1782 and June 1789 during which Burke's constructive interest in Indian affairs yielded to an "implacable determination" to defeat Hastings in the latter's impeachment trial. Furber found interpreted these letters as re-enforcement for the "view held in India today" that Burke was a "champion of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
's downtrodden millions."
Furber was a member of the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
and was the president of the Association for Asian Studies
Association for Asian Studies
The Association for Asian Studies is a U.S. society focused on facilitating contact and information exchange among scholars of Asian fields. It is the self-proclaimed largest society of its kind. The Association consists of eminent Asianists, and is a non-profit organization...
from 1968 to 1969. In retirement, he published his ambitious survey, Rival Empires of Trade in the Orient 1600-1800, which applied the themes elucidated in John Company at Work back to earlier times. Furber's last book was dedicated to Elizabeth Chapin Furber, his first wife and a scholar of medieval French history
History of France
The history of France goes back to the arrival of the earliest human being in what is now France. Members of the genus Homo entered the area hundreds of thousands years ago, while the first modern Homo sapiens, the Cro-Magnons, arrived around 40,000 years ago...
, who died at the time of his retirement. His second wife Lucy Richardson was the classmate of a widow, whom he escorted to his 50th reunion at Harvard. They married seven years later and they periodically lived at his summer home at Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
, and her family home in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
. He died during his sleep on January 19, 1993 in Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...
.