The passing of Prof. Richard G. Hovannisan on Monday has impacted a broad spectrum of our nation, with institutions and organizations with which he was affiliated expressing their heartfelt tributes.
Asbarez presents the appreciation messages that it has received.
UCLA Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History
It was with a heavy heart that I learned earlier today of Professor Richard G. Hovannisian’s passing and I wish to express my deepest and most sincere condolences on this very somber occasion to the entire Hovannisian family and to all those who loved and admired him. Professor Hovannisian was a formidable scholar and pathbreaking innovator in the field of Armenian history, and the first holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation’s Chair of Modern Armenian History at UCLA. In recognition of his towering accomplishments, the chair was renamed in his honor upon his retirement in 2011, following a storied, fifty-year career at UCLA. Dr. Hovannisian was a mentor to several generations of scholars and a recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including a distinguished Guggenheim fellowship. As the present holder of the chair, I am profoundly indebted to his distinguished contributions to the teaching of Armenian history and for establishing Armenian Studies in North America on a firm foundation—a legacy that will be carried forward in future generations.
Professor Hovannisian was the author of numerous foundational works, including “Armenia on the Road to Independence” (University of California Press, 1967), the trailblazing and monumental four-volume diplomatic history of the “Republic of Armenia,” a work of profound erudition and painstaking research in multiple languages across numerous archives. The publication of these groundbreaking volumes from 1971 to 1996, traced the long arc of Professor Hovannisian’s biographical trajectory and helped define Armenian Studies as a professional field of scholarly inquiry and research unseen before his intervention in the field. During the last two decades of his tenure at the Department of History at UCLA, Professor Hovannisian tirelessly organized the “Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces” conferences, which not only made complex scholarly findings accessible to a broad audience, but also resulted in fourteen volumes of edited conference proceedings, culminating in the recent volume, “Armenian Communities in Iran” (2021). Especially noteworthy and indispensable, is the landmark two-volume collection of essays by the leading scholars of Armenian history, “The Armenian People: From Ancient to Modern Times” (New York: MacMillan, 1998), an expertly edited work that established a highwater mark for scholarship in the field and serves as a textbook of choice in Armenian Studies and World History courses across universities in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Professor Hovannisian was not only a monumental figure in Armenian Studies, but he was also a true pioneer in genocide studies in North America, a field that was hardly in existence before the early 1970s and owes an enormous debt to his contributions. His role as an indefatigable champion for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide will be remembered as one of the most meaningful and profound among his many accomplishments. Like many scholars of Armenian history, Professor Hovannisian’s dedication sprang from a deep desire to alleviate the incalculable losses and ineffable trauma caused by the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1918, during which much of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire was systematically exterminated. During an interview he gave more than two decades ago, Professor Hovannisian spoke of how his survivor father, Kaspar Hovannisian, never spoke about the genocide. “He didn’t talk about it, but in his sleep he would call for his mother,” Hovannisian recounted. “That’s the way with the aftermath of genocides – it’s not there, but (is) there at all times.” This silence and grief that was passed down to survivors drove Professor Hovannisian to record as many testimonies of survivors as possible. In the 1970s and ‘80s, more than two decades before Stephen Spielberg’s establishment of the USC Shoah Foundation, Hovannisian worked tirelessly, often with his UCLA students, tape-recording and filming Armenian genocide survivors, aware that the chance to record their narratives was rapidly dwindling. “Of the 800 interviewees,” he stated in 2001, “no more than 20 or 25 are still alive…so it makes the effort all the more important.” His important collection is now part of the USC Shoah Foundation’s “Richard G. Hovannisian Armenian Genocide Oral History Collection.”
The whole of the Armenian Studies family has suffered an irreplaceable loss and will be forever in Professor Hovannisian’s debt for the many sacrifices he made to build the scholarly foundation of modern Armenian history, a truly magnificent feat, especially since he did so at a time when he was practically alone and had no shoulders to stand on.
May the extended Hovannisian family find consolation in his blessed memory and comfort in this time of mourning. May God keep the soul in light and comfort his relatives with his fatherly love throughout their life.
With deepest respect,
Sebouh David Aslanian
Professor of History and Richard Hovannisian Chair if Modern Armenian History,
UCLA Department of History
Inaugural Director of the Armenian Studies Center at the UCLA Promise Armenian History
USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies
Richard G. Hovannisian was a titan in the field of Armenian Studies – an academic discipline that he shaped with his groundbreaking scholarship and professionalism. He passed away this week, at the age of 90, leaving behind a legacy that is impossible to capture.
He lived the life of a public intellectual. He became a historian with a mission – to promote the study of the Armenian Genocide as a consequential 20th century event. His research and publications cemented the place of the first Republic of Armenia in Armenian history and world history. Yet, he never lost sight of his two other responsibilities, teaching and community building. He was a professor who shaped multiple generations’ ideas and outlook on what it means to be Armenian. He and his life partner, Dr. Vartiter Kotcholosian Hovannisian, were an unrelenting, resolute presence in the developing Armenian-American community of Southern California – which always included the California Central Valley where his genocide survivor father settled.
His name has been omnipresent in academia for nearly seven decades, making space for Armenian scholars at institutions once out of reach. Hovannisian’s time at the University of California Los Angeles birthed new scholars through the graduate program he founded in Armenian history. Hovannisian also provided opportunities for students of all disciplines to have hands-on experience collecting, transcribing, and translating the invaluable oral histories of Armenian Genocide survivors. In recent years, he was also a presence at the University of Southern California, after entrusting his large collection of oral history interviews to the university for preservation and public access. The interviews were among the first to be conducted with genocide survivors.
Richard G. Hovannisian’s scholarship, mentorship, publications, and community building have touched the lives and trajectories of innumerable people, including every member of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies.
Our sincere condolences to his family, peers, friends, students, and the Armenian Studies community worldwide for this enormous loss.
The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA
Our UCLA Promise Armenian Institute family is deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian, professor emeritus of history at UCLA. We send our deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and students, through whom his work and influence lives on. His passing is a tremendous loss for the UCLA community and the Armenian community worldwide.
Professor Hovannisian was a professor at UCLA for over 50 years and was the first holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Professorial Chair in Modern Armenian History, now named in his honor. His monumental work includes The Republic of Armenia in four volumes, several volumes on the Armenian Genocide, fifteen volumes in the series Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, and over one thousand interviews of genocide survivors conducted with his students. His tremendous work and legacy will continue to inspire and guide scholars for many generations.
Rest in peace, dear Professor Hovannisian; you will be so very much missed by our UCLA PAI family.
Armenian Educational Foundation
It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of a true friend to the Armenian Educational Foundation, Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, Ph.D., a prominent scholar and expert in Armenian and Near Eastern history. Throughout his life, Professor Hovannisian dedicated himself to educating the world about Armenian history, culture, and contemporary issues. Born in Tulare, California, he pursued his education at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned his Ph.D.
Professor Hovannisian’s impact as an educator and author was immeasurable. He played a vital role in establishing Armenian history courses and programs at UCLA, where he served as a tenured professor from 1969 and later became a full professor in 1972. Additionally, he made significant contributions as the Associate Director of the Von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies.
As a prolific author and editor, Professor Hovannisian produced numerous influential publications that delved into various aspects of Armenian history and culture. His contributions included the renowned four-volume archival study, “The Republic of Armenia.” Furthermore, he played a pivotal role in ensuring the permanence of the Armenian History position at UCLA by spearheading efforts to establish an endowed chair through the AEF. This resulted in the establishment of the “AEF Chair in Modern Armenian History” in 1986, with Professor Hovannisian as its first chair holder.
Professor Hovannisian received numerous accolades and honors for his outstanding contributions to Armenian scholarship. His notable achievements include receiving the Medal of Mesrop Mashtots, the Medal of Saints Sahak and Mesrop, and the Knight of Cilicia. In 1990, he became the first social scientist living abroad to be elected to the Armenian Academy of Sciences.
Professor Richard G. Hovannisian’s example and contributions will serve as a guiding light for future generations. His commitment to Armenian education, his fight against genocide denial, and his dedication to preserving Armenian history will be cherished and remembered with the utmost admiration. The loss of Professor Hovannisian is deeply felt, and his significant contributions to the field of Armenian studies will leave an enduring legacy. May his torch of knowledge inspire and guide those who continue the important work he began.
AEF Board and Staff