Balkrishna Govind Gokhale Papers
Balkrishna Govind Gokhale was the first professor (1960-1990) in Wake Forest University's Asian Studies program. Materials in this collection include Gokhale's scholarly articles, a Winston-Salem Journal obituary, and bibliography drafts.
Biographical and Historical Note
Balkrishna Govind Gokhale was born in Dwarka, India, on September 4, 1919. Gokhale graduated with honors from the University of Bombay (now the University of Mumbai) in 1939. He earned master's (1941) and doctoral (1946) degrees from the University of Bombay.
After teaching at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, from 1942-1954, Gokhale moved to the United States with his wife and two daughters. In the U.S., Gokhale taught at Bowdoin College (1954), Oberlin College (1955-1956), and the University of Washington, Seattle (1959-1960).
Gokhale was then recruited to Wake Forest University to begin the Asian Studies program. At the time, he was the first non-Christian faculty member at WFU. He remained at the University from 1960 until 1990, teaching courses that covered Southeast Asian history, the country of India, and the Hindi language. Gokhale was also the author of 17 books, including Indian Thought Through the Ages and Ancient India History and Culture, and over 100 articles and helped build the Z. Smith Reynolds Library's Asian Collection.
In his spare time, Gokhale taught himself Dutch, Portuguese, Arabic, and Persian. Gokhale died on August 11, 2005.
Collection Overview
Materials in this collection include scholarly articles by Balkrishna Govid Gokhale, a Winston-Salem Journal obituary, a biography, and bibliography drafts. Items are listed in alphabetical order, with biographical information at the beginning of the collection.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Elizabeth Crispino, 2023 April
- Access Restrictions
- Collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Balkrishna Govind Gokhale Papers (MS569), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.