In Memoriam: Michael Aung-Thwin

Michael Arthur Aung-Thwin, Emeritus Professor of Asian History, died peacefully after a long illness on 14th August 2021, surrounded by his family in his Hawaii home.

Born in Yangon, Myanmar, in 1946, Michael attended high school at Kodaikanal International School in South India and later came to the United States where he earned a BA from Doane College (Nebraska), an MA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a PhD from the University of Michigan.

A scholar of early Myanmar and Southeast Asian history, Michael held positions at Elmira College, Kyoto University, Northern Illinois University, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He published widely, including the books 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) and Myanmar in the Fifteenth Century: A Tale of Two Kingdoms (2017).

Michael loved swimming, tennis, soccer, cooking, and jamming on his guitar (usually to the Beatles). He is survived by his wife Maria, his sister Maureen, his sister-in-law Evelyn, his son Maitrii, daughter Amita, his daughter-in-law Eileen, and his grandson Shan. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Burma Studies Foundation are welcome.

Rest in aloha, Professor Aung-Thwin!