Edward A. Allworth

Edward A. Allworth (1 December 1920 – 20 October 2016) was an American historian specializing in Central Asia. Allwarth is widely regarded as the West’s leading scholar on Central Asian studies. He extensively studied the various ethnic groups of the region, including Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Bukharan Jews. He wrote numerous books on the history of Central Asia.

Allworth was Emeritus Professor of Turko-Soviet Studies at Columbia University. He was founding director at Columbia of both the Program on Soviet Nationality Problems (1970) and the Center for the Study of Central Asia (1984). Allworth was also editor of the Central Asia book series at Duke University Press.

Allworth is best known for his books Uzbek Literary Politics (1964), Central Asian Publishing and the Rise of Nationalism (1965), Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule (1967), The Nationality Question in Soviet Central Asia (1973), Nationality Group Survival in Multiethnic States (1977), and The Modern Uzbeks: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present (1990).

Life and work
Edward A. Allworth was born on December 1, 1920, the son of Edward C. and Ethel (Walker) Allworth. He received his bachelor's degree from Oregon State University. He received a master's degree from the University of Chicago. In 1959, he received a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Allworth's father had won the Medal of Honor for his service in France in World War I. During World War II, the younger Allworth served as a platoon leader, second lieutenant, and adjutant, in the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division of the US Army, in the Normandy Invasion and the division's battles thereafter through the Allied World War II victory in Northern Europe.

Allworth taught a wide variety of courses on Central Asian studies at Columbia University. In 1984, he established the Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures to focus on the study of contemporary Central Asia. He published numerous books on the history of Central Asia. These include Uzbek Literary Politics (1964), Central Asian Publishing and the Rise of Nationalism (1965), Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule (1967), The Nationality Question in Soviet Central Asia (1973), Nationality Group Survival in Multiethnic States (1977), The Modern Uzbeks: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present (1990), The Tatars of Crimea: Return to the Homeland (1998), and The Preoccupations of Abdalrauf Fitrat, Bukharan Nonconformist: An Analysis and List of His Writings (2000).

Allworth extensively studied the Chagatai language. He was fluent in Uzbek and Uighur.

Allworth died on October 20, 2016, in New York City. In November 2016, the Central Eurasia Studies Society posthumously awarded Allworth with the CESS Lifetime Service to the Field Award.