Charles Patrick Fitzgerald
Born
Karl Patrick Van Hoogstraten [1]

(1902-03-05)5 March 1902
London, England, United Kingdom
Died13 April 1992(1992-04-13) (aged 90)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Known forEast Asian studies (focus on China)
Scientific career
FieldsHistory
InstitutionsAustralian National University

Charles Patrick Fitzgerald (5 March 1902 – 13 April 1992) was a British historian and writer whose academic career occurred mostly in Australia. He was a professor of East Asian studies with particular focus on China.[2]

Early life and education

Fitzgerald was born in London, England.[2] His parents were Hans Sauer, a migrant from Cape Colony.[2] and his Irish-born wife Cecile Josephine, née Fitzpatrick.[1]

Unable to attend university as his family could not afford the fees, he obtained a job in a bank. After becoming interested in East Asia and the political developments there, he studied for a diploma in Chinese at the University of London's School of Oriental Studies.[1]

Career

He first visited China at age 21, and subsequently lived and worked there for over 20 years.[3] Between 1946 and 1950 he worked there for the British Council.[2] After leaving China, Fitzgerald was invited to Australia by Douglas Copland, who had been Australian Minister to China (1946-1948).[4][5] Fitzgerald served as a Reader in Far Eastern History at the Research School of Pacific (and Asian) Studies at the Australian National University, located in Canberra, Australia, from 1951 to 1953.[2] He later became the first Professor of Far Eastern History, from 1953 to 1967.[2]

He was a foundation member of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1969.[6]

Personal life

Fitzgerald married Pamela Sara Knollys on 15 February 1941 at Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England. They had three daughters.[1]

He died in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1992.[2]

Writings

Fitzgerald's best-known book, China: A Short Cultural History (London: The Cresset Press, 1935; edited by C. P. Seligman), has been reprinted and revised several times. He authored many other books and articles, including:[7]

  • Son of Heaven: A Biography of Li Shih-Min, Founder of the T'ang Dynasty (Cambridge: University Press, 1933)
  • The Tower of Five Glories (London: The Cresset Press, 1940)
  • Introducing China (London: Pitman, 1948) (Joint author: George Yeh)
  • Revolution in China (London: Cresset Press, 1952); revised edition: The Birth of Communist China (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1964)
  • Flood Tide in China (Cresset Press, 1952)
  • Finding Out About Imperial China (London, Frederick Muller, 1961; Exploring the Past series)
  • Empress Wu (Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire for the Australian National University, 1955)
  • The Chinese View of Their Place in the World (London: Oxford University Press, 1964)
  • Barbarian Beds: The Origin of the Chair in China (Canberra: Australian National University, 1965)
  • The Third China: The Chinese Communities in South-East Asia (Melbourne, Victoria: Cheshire for the Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1965)
  • Buddhism in Political Action in South East Asia (Canberra: St. Mark's Library, 1965)
  • China in the Twenty-first Century (Hobart: Adult Education Board of Tasmania, 1968)
  • China's Revolution 20 Years After (Sydney: D. B. Young, 1969)
  • The Irrationality of the Fear of China (Summer Hill, N.S.W.: Australia-China Society, 1970)
  • Communism Takes China: How the Revolution Went Red (London: B.P.C., 1971)
  • Changing Directions of Chinese Foreign Policy (Canberra: Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1971)
  • The Southern Expansion of the Chinese People: "Southern Fields and Southern Ocean" (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1972)
  • Mao Tse-Tung and China (Harmondsworth, Middlesex and New York: Penguin Books, 1977)
  • China and South East Asia since 1945 (Camberwell, Victoria: Longman Australia, 1973)
  • Why China?: Recollections of China, 1923–1950 (Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1985)
  • "The Historical Background of Chinese Military Tradition" (1964) in the Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rafe de Crespigny, Fitzgerald, Charles Patrick (1902–1992), Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Australian National Library (9 September 1996). "MS5189 - Fitzgerald's Papers". Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Wang Gungwu, "In Memoriam: Professor C. P. Fitzgerald 1902–1992", The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, Issue 29, January 1993, pages 161-163. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "Fitzgerald, Charles Patrick (1902–1992)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  5. ↑ Geremie R. Barmé, The George E. Morrison Lectures in Ethnology, anu.edu.au. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  6. ↑ The Academy's Early Days, humanities.org.au. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Charles Patrick Fitzgerald, 1902–1992, humanities.org.au. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
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