Jean Herbert was one of the first generation of interpreters for the

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

organization. He was a former chief interpreter of the United Nations interpretation service in New York City.

Biography

Herbert was one of the pioneer, veteran and model consecutive interpreters from the

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and the

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. His father was an English-speaking Frenchman. He was married to an English woman, with whom he had two daughters, Janine Yates and Yvette Renoux. Herbert had worked between World War I and World War II for different international organizations. Towards 1930, he became interested in Buddhism and the Far East prompting him to travel to India, China and other Buddhist countries, leading to the authorship of many books related to the Far East such as his ''Introduction to Asia''. During World War II – in 1939 - Herbert saved 2,000 Alsatians from being shot by the Germans and spent the rest of the war in the French Midi, devoting himself to the study of sacred Hindu texts, until he received a telegram from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France requesting him to go to San Francisco, California for the founding of the United Nations. From San Francisco, Herbert went to the preparatory committee of the U.N. and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in London. From London, he went to New York to function as chief interpreter. After spending two years in New York, he then moved to Geneva, taking part in the interpreter admission board of the

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and the

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schools. He published his ''Manuel de l’interprete'' (The Interpreter’s Handbook) in 1952. He also founded and directed two collections of

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and technical dictionaries published by

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and sponsored by the Universities of Paris, Heidelberg, Mainz, Trieste and

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. Herbert also became a vice-president – and then president – of the International Association of Conference Interpreters ( AIIC) for three years. After retiring from the United Nations in 1954, Herbert continued freelancing and traveled to the Far East,

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and the Middle East. He held the chair of Eastern Mythologies at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

, where he taught from 1954 to 1964. He wrote Shinto the Fountainhead of Japan with details from visits from 1935 to 1964 and it was published in France in 1964 and in English in 1967 Jean Herbert died in 1980 at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Jean United Nations interpreters People from Paris 1897 births 1980 deaths 20th-century translators Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) French officials of the United Nations

Biography

See also

References