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Writers & Artists · Community memorial

Robert Thurman

August 3, 1941 – June 16, 2026

American Buddhist writer and academic (1941–2026)

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Their story

Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman was an American Buddhist author and academic who wrote, edited and translated books about Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in 2019. He held the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West. He was the co-founder and president of Tibet House US, New York, and its Menla Retreat & Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. He translated the Vimalakirti Sutra from the Tibetan Kangyur into English. He was the father of actress Uma Thurman, and grandfather of Maya Hawke.

Important dates

  • Birthday · August 3
  • Anniversary · June 16

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