H. Byron Earhart (born 1935) is an American historian,

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

, and author, especially about Japanese religions.

Life and studies

He was born on January 7, 1935, in

Aledo, Illinois Aledo (u--doh) is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,640 at the 2010 census, up from 3,613 in 2000. It is the county seat of Mercer County. History Aledo was established in the 1850s when the railroad was ...

; son of Kenneth Harry and Mary (Haack) Earhart. His father enlisted in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1942 and served on the battleship

USS Missouri Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS ''Missouri'' in honor of the state of Missouri: *, a sidewheel frigate launched in 1841 and destroyed by fire in August 1843 *, a ''Maine''-class battleship in service from 1900 to 1922. *, a ...

. His grandparents and mother held a frozen food locker in

Havana, Illinois Havana is a city in Mason County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,301 at the 2010 census, and 3,040 at a 2018 estimate. It is the county seat of Mason County. History Havana was a major ancient American settlement two thousand years ...

. H. Byron Earhart married Virginia Margaret Donaho in 1956 and they had three children. Earhart attended Knox College in Galesburg, majoring in philosophy and religion. He enrolled at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in a graduate program, got a Fulbright grant and went to Japan for three years of doctoral research. He studied under

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religiou ...

and Joseph M. Kitagawa at the University of Chicago, where he received a doctorate in

History of Religions The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

Career

He is a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in the Department of Comparative Religion at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

from which he received in 1981 a Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award. His textbook ''Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity '' (1969) is considered a classic, through several editions, and "has remained one of the only treatments of Japanese religious history truly suitable for use in undergraduate classrooms".

Bibliography (excerpts)

* ''Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity'', 1969, and later editions, also as ''Religion in Japan: Unity and Diversity'' *''The new religions of Japan: a bibliography of Western-language materials''. xi, 96 pp. Tokyo: Sophia University, 1970. University of Michigan, 1983, pp. 213. * 1997 * ''Religions of Japan: Many Traditions Within One Sacred Way '', 1984, 1998 * ''Religious Traditions of the World: A Journey Through Africa, Mesoamerica, North America, Judaism, Christianity, Islam'', 1993 * ''Mount Fuji: Icon of Japan'', Columbia: The University of South Carolina Press, 2011 *

References

External links

H. Byron Earhart, Western Michigan University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earhart, H. Byron 21st-century American historians American historians of religion American male non-fiction writers Living people 1935 births