John Gombojab Hangin (1921–October 9, 1989) was a scholar of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

n studies. He authored several Mongolian dictionaries and textbooks and is credited by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' with helping to establish recognition for the

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...

from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

In Japan

Hangin was born in

Taibus Banner Taipusi Banner ( Mongolian: , Khalkha: Тайвас хошуу, ''Taiwas hoshuu''; ) is a banner of Inner Mongolia, China, bordering Hebei province to the southeast, south, and west. It is under the administration of Xilin Gol League and is its ...

, Chahar,

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

to a prominent family who had long been active in the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

court. He was sent to Hokkaido Imperial University in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to study during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, afterward taking a position as a secretary in the

Mengjiang Mengjiang, also known as Mengkiang or the Mongol Border Land, and governed as the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, formed in 1939 as a puppet state of the Empire of Japan, then from 1940 being ...

government of Prince

Demchugdongrub Demchugdongrub ( mn, , Demchigdonrob, Дэмчигдонров, translit=Demchigdonrov, , Chinese: 德穆楚克棟魯普, 8 February 1902– 23 May 1966), also known as Prince De ( zh, 德王), courtesy name Xixian ( zh, 希賢), was a Qing ...

. He was elected to the

National Assembly of the Republic of China The National Assembly was the authoritative legislative body of the Republic of China, commonly referred to as Taiwan after 1949, from 1947 to 2005. Along with the Control Yuan (upper house) and the Legislative Yuan (lower house), the National ...

in 1947; however, after the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

ended with a communist victory, he emigrated to the

in 1949.

In the United States

In the US, under the guidance of

Owen Lattimore Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of ''Pacif ...

, Hangin studied at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

(where he received his Ph.D.). After graduation, he served on the faculties of several universities, including Columbia University,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and UC Berkeley, before settling at Indiana University. Hangin acted as a conduit between Americans and Mongolians. ''The New York Times'', in its 1989 obituary, indicated that " s efforts helped to lay the groundwork for recognition of the Mongolian People's Republic by the United Nations in 1961 and American recognition in 1987." In addition to publishing several textbooks and dictionaries on the Mongolian language, Hangin also founded th
Mongolia Society
at Indiana University and established the

Mongol-American Cultural Association Mongolian Americans are American citizens who are of full or partial Mongolian ancestry. The term Mongol American is also used to include ethnic Mongol immigrants from groups outside of Mongolia as well, such as Kalmyks, Buryats, and people fr ...

(MACA).

Death and legacy

Hangin died of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

while doing research in

Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north cen ...

, Mongolia. He is buried in the

Altan-Ölgii National Cemetery The Altan-Ölgii National Cemetery ( mn, Алтан-Өлгий) is a cemetery located in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Notable burials Choibalsan and Sukhbaatar The revolutionary hero Damdin Sükhbaatar was buried here in 1923, but was later exhumed ...

. The Mongolia Society offers a scholarship in his name to Mongolian students who wish to study in the United States.

Notes

External links

MACA homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hangin, John Gombojab 1921 births 1989 deaths Mongolists Linguists from the United States Hokkaido University alumni Indiana University alumni Republic of China politicians from Inner Mongolia Political office-holders in the Republic of China People from Xilingol League 20th-century linguists Chinese expatriates in Japan Chinese emigrants to the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Columbia University alumni Georgetown University faculty