Park, Richard, July 31, 1980

Richard Park (March 29, 1920 – September 8, 1980) was born in Savannah, GA and received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern in 1942. He was then drafted and served in India from 1943-45 as a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Force. He then attended the School of Military Government at Charlottesville until 1946. Soon after, he was assigned to the Government Section under the Supreme Commander Allied Powers (SCAP) as a military government officer in Nagano as a liaison between the local governor and officials and SCAP. In this role he was the observing officer during the election to the Diet in 1946. He left Japan in 1946 and received his MA in 1948 and PhD in 1951 from Harvard, going on to teach and hold distinguished positions at various esteemed universities, including being Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan from 1959-64 and 1966-80. Park also acted as a consultant on South Asia to the U.S. Department of State during his career. He was committed to Indian studies and put out many publications on India and South Asia as well as hosted numerous trips to India for professors and students. In 1980, Richard Park passed away at the age of 60.