George A. Bournoutian (‎; 25 September 1943 – 22 August 2021) was an Iranian-American professor, historian, and author of Armenian descent. He was a professor of history and the author of over 30 books, particularly focusing on Armenian history, Iran and the Caucasus. He taught Iranian history at UCLA, and Armenian history at Columbia University, Tufts University, New York University, Rutgers University, the University of Connecticut, Ramapo College, and Glendale Community College and Russian and Soviet history at Iona College. Bournoutian was one of the 40 editors of the Encyclopaedia Iranica.

Biography

George Bournoutian was born in Isfahan, Iran into an Armenian family. He grew up in Iran, and he received his high school diploma from the Andisheh (Don Bosco) institution in Tehran. He immigrated to the United States in 1964. He received his M.A. degree in 1971 and his Ph.D. in history with a focus on Armenian and Iranian studies in 1976 at UCLA. His dissertation was titled "Eastern Armenia on the Eve of the Russian Conquest," which was published as a book in 1982 and republished in 1992. He was a member of the Middle Eastern Studies Association, Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Iranian Studies Association, Society for Armenian Studies, and Association Internationale des Etudes Armeniennes. George Bournoutian was also an avid world traveler. He was fluent in Armenian, Persian, Russian, and Polish, and had a reading command of French. He accompanied his senior and graduate students on annual trips to Armenia and Transcaucasia, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, South and Central America and Antarctica.

Honours

Degrees

1970 - BA - UCLA - Thesis - The Armenian Community of Isfahan (Iran) in the 17th Century - Published in 2 parts - The Armenian Review 1971–1972 1971 - MA - UCLA - Thesis - The Rise of National and Political Consciousness among the Armenian, Georgian and Turko-Tatar Peoples and Their Role in the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907 - Published in The Armenian Review in 1973. 1976 - PhD - UCLA - Eastern Armenia on the Eve of the Russian Conquest

Publications