Peter Ward Fay (3 December 1924 – 18 January 2004) was a noted historian and authority on

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. He was a professor at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

from 1955 until his retirement in 1997. Professor Fay received his bachelor's degree from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1947, where his studies were interrupted to serve in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Afterwards, he attended

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

and then returned to Harvard for his PhD, which he received in 1954. After a brief period teaching at Williams College, he came to Caltech, where he remained for the rest of his career. At Caltech, Fay taught a variety of courses in European history and also developed an interest in Asia, especially India and China. Among his books were the award-winning ''The Opium War, 1840-1842'' (1975) and ''The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942-1945'' (1993) written on the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

. His two years spent at the

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

, during the 1960s, in its humanities department. Also, during his days at

, he came in contact with

Lakshmi Sahgal Lakshmi Sahgal () (born Lakshmi Swaminathan; 24 October 1914 – 23 July 2012) was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. La ...

(Captain Laxmi Sehgal) and her husband,

Prem Sahgal Lieutenant colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal (25 March 1917 – 17 October 1992) was an officer of the British Indian Army. After becoming a Japanese prisoner of war, he served as an officer in the Indian National Army, which was led by Subhas Chandra B ...

(Colonel Prem Kumar Sehgal), both former high-ranking officers in

Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

-led INA, who gave him deeper insights into

's history and helped him form his interest in Indian history.

Books

*''The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942-1945,'' 1993, / *''The Opium War, 1840-1842,'' 1975, /

External links

Peter W. Fay Obituary at CaltechCaltech Archives on Peter Fay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Peter W. 1924 births 2004 deaths Harvard University alumni American Rhodes Scholars California Institute of Technology faculty 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Indian National Army 20th-century American male writers