Theodore Allen Wertime (August 31, 1919 - April 8, 1982) was an American diplomat and historian.

Early life

Theodore Allen Wertime was born August 31, 1919, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to Flora (née Montgomery) and Rudolf Wertime. His father was professor of music at Wilson College. Wertime graduated from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

in 1939, and got a Master of Arts degree in history from the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in Washington, D.C.

Career

Wertime served in the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

in China during World War II and then became a China analyst in the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

. He then worked as a Cultural Attaché in the

U.S. Embassy in Tehran The Embassy of the United States of America in Tehran was the American diplomatic mission in the Imperial State of Iran. Direct bilateral diplomatic relations between the two governments were severed following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and ...

(1960-1963) and in Athens (1969-1972). In 1960s he edited Voice of America's radio program "Forum". He worked for the

U.S. Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill ...

and worked as its energy program officer for two years. He retired in 1975. Wertime also worked as a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. He was a proponent of study of ancient pyrotechnology, or fire usage techniques in metallurgy. He organized four expeditions to Iran to study it, to the north of Iran in 1961, 1962, a survey of "The Great Persian Desert" in 1966, and then in 1967. Cyril Stanley Smith participated in two expeditions to Iran. His 1968 survey was his largest and most ambitious expedition that covered several countries and was funded by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society. He gathered a multidisciplinary team: Robert Brill (glass, glazes, and metals), Sam Bingham (photographer), Fred Klinger (geologist), Fred Matson (ceramics),

Ezzat Negahban Ezatollah Negahban ( fa, عزت‌الله نگهبان; March 1, 1926 – 2 February 2009) was an Iranian archaeologist known as the father of Iranian modern archaeology. Biography Prof. Ezat O. Negahban was born Ahvaz, Iran. After graduating f ...

(archaeology), Radomír Pleiner, Beno Rothenberg and

Ronald F. Tylecote Ronald Frank Tylecote (15 June 1916 – 17 June 1990) was a British archaeologist and metallurgist, generally recognised as the founder of the sub-discipline of archaeometallurgy. Education and profession The son of doctor Frank Edward Tylecote, h ...

( archaeometallurgists), and John Wertime (Wertime's son and interpreter). The expedition started on 29 July 1968, and routed through Afghanistan to Iran to Turkey, where it finished on 25 September 1968. He then led two expeditions to Turkey (1970 and 1971), and expedition across Turkey, Cyprus, and the Balkans in 1973. In 1976 he led an expedition to Egypt. His last one was in 1980 to Greece and Cyprus. While Wertime worked as a cultural attache, he gained some proficiency in local languages, that helped in his expeditions.

Personal life

Wertime married Bernice "Peggy". They had four sons, John T., Richard A., Steven F. and Charles M. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church of the Falling Spring. From 1936 to 1976, he lived in the Washington, D.C., area. He lived in Arlington, Virginia, for a time. Later in life, he lived in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania. Wertime died of cancer on April 8, 1982, at Chambersburg Hospital in Chambersburg.

Selected publications

*1951 (published in 1962) *1954 "The Discovery of the Element Carbon," Osiris, pp. 211–20. *1962 ''The Coming of the Age of Steel'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) *1964 "Asian Influences on European Metallurgy," Technology and Culture 5:391-97. *1964 "Man's First Encounters with Metallurgy," Science 146:1257-67. *1968 "A Metallurgical Expedition through the Persian Desert," Science 159:927-35. *1968 "Culture and Continuity: A Commentary on Mazlish and Mumford," Technology and Culture 9:203-12. *1973 "The Beginnings of Metallurgy: A New Look," Science 182:875-87. *1973
Pyrotechnology: Man's First Industrial Uses of Fire
" American Scientist 61: 670–82. *1978 ''The Search for Ancient Tin'', edited with Alan D. Franklin and Jacqueline S. Olin (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press) *1980 ''The Coming of the Age of Iron'', edited with James D. Muhly (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press) *1981 "The Origin of Agriculture and Technology (conference report)," Technology and Culture 22:122-24. *1982 ''Early Pyrotechnology: The Evolution of the First Fire-using Industries'', edited with Steven F. Wertime (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press) *1983 "The Furnace versus the Goat," Journal of Field Archaeology 10:445-52.

References

External links

"On The Metallurgical Trail Of Homer and Strabo In Turkey"
1970 application by Wertime, with short bio and list of publications {{DEFAULTSORT:Wertime, Theodore 1919 births 1982 deaths People from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania People from Fulton County, Pennsylvania People from Arlington County, Virginia Haverford College alumni American University alumni 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American historians United States Foreign Service personnel People of the Office of Strategic Services Smithsonian Institution people Voice of America people