Birth of Vahakn Dadrian (May 26, 1926)

Vahakn Dadrian was one of the foremost experts of the Armenian Genocide in the 1980s-2000s. 

He was born on May 26, 1926, in Constantinople (today Istanbul) to a family that lost many members during the Armenian Genocide. He first studied mathematics at the University of Berlin and then switched to a completely different field, studying philosophy at the University of Vienna and international law at the University of Zurich. He completed his Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Chicago. He was well-versed in several key languages, including Ottoman Turkish, and worked in the archives of different countries. From 1970 to 1991, he was a professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Geneseo. 

Dadrian was awarded an honorary doctorate degree for his research in the field of Armenian Genocide studies by the Armenian National Academy of Sciences and then became a member (1998). He also received the Movses Khorenatsi Medal of the Republic of Armenia (1998) and the Mesrob Mashdots Medal of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation sponsored him as director of a large genocide study project. He was also the director of Genocide Research at the Zoryan Institute. He also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He also lectured extensively in French, English, and German in different venues across Europe, North America, South America, and Armenia. 

Besides a string of influential articles, Vahakn Dadrian also authored The Armenian Genocide in Parliamentary and Historiographical Discussion (in Armenian, 1993), The History of the Armenian Genocide (1995), German Responsibility in the Armenian Genocide (1996), The Key Elements in the Turkish Denial of the Armenian Genocide (1999), and Warrant for Genocide (1999). His books and articles have been translated into more than ten languages. 

He passed away on August 2, 2019, at the age of 93, in New York. In accordance with his wishes, his remains were cremated and transported to Armenia for burial. He was buried in the Tokhmakh cemetery in Yerevan after a state ceremony and visitation at the Academy of Sciences.